Uncertainty
by sanitycloud10
Summary: This is a RenixOhgami fic. Reni has doubts about her relationship with Ohgami and some drama in between till they get together. Some random events thrown in to add humour. Basically a mixed genre story depending on my mood. R&R pls! Chapter 10 released.
1. Doubts

Disclaimer: I do not own Sakura Wars nor any of their characters. Story is mine though.

* * *

Reni sat at the corner of her table, seemingly to others of the Hanagumi to be her usual quiet self as she sipped her glass of orange juice while she was actually observing Ohgami and the usual entourage of girls who were constantly dividing his attention between them. 

A trace of envy crept into her mind when she saw how happy her Taichou looked when he was with the other members of the Hanagumi. She secretly longed to be able to converse with her Taichou naturally without letting her robotic personality surface.

Even though Ohgami had spent quite some time with her, she was very insecure of their relationship. In fact, she wasn't even sure if they had any special relationship at all. Ohgami had treated everyone else around him as well as he had treated her

_Does he see anything in me at all?_ Reni began to doubt, not noticing that someone was shouting at her.

"Reni! Look out!"

Reni was still blinking in confusion at Iris' sudden intrusion into her thoughts when the table in front of her was flying towards her face. Acting on instinct, Reni grabbed her juice and leapt sideways out of her chair, avoiding the table in her face but she didn't avoid the person who had pushed her table.

The person collided with Reni, splashing her juice onto her face, hair and shirt before they both went down with the person pinning her below. Trying to wipe the stinging juice from her eyes, she only heard a male voice muttering an apology before he got up and raced away from her. When she finally got enough of the juice off her eyes, she saw the extraordinary scene of three policemen, blowing their whistles and waving their batons around their heads racing pass her.

As Reni sat on the ground, a blinding flash made her notice Kohran snapping her Joukicam at her direction.

"A rare scene! Reni-han stunned with orange juice all over her!" Kohran announced triumphantly.

"Cut it out Kohran. But I do admit that it is quite funny," guffawed Kanna.

"I rarely agree with the baboon over here but this is quite hilarious," agreed Sumire who was barely holding her laughter beside Kanna.

"Reni, are you ok?" Iris, Orihime and Sakura asked simultaneously. Maria who was beside them had an amused look on her face.

"Reni, are you hurt? Here let me help you up," said Ohgami who had suddenly crouched beside her, a concerned look on his face just inches away from hers, his hand outstretched.

Reni, who hadn't been at such close proximity with Ohgami for some time felt her face burned up and gingerly accepted his help to pull her up.

"I'm fine. T-thank you Taichou," Reni replied shyly, feeling Kohran snapping her Joukicam again.

"Ahhhh, Reni-han is blushing, kawaii," squealed Kohran and the others agree. This made Reni felt worse and she immediately released her hand from Ohgami's and turned away, totally embarrassed. She kicked herself mentally. _Now Taichou thinks I'm a clumsy clown._

"But really! Why didn't you avoid that hooligan? Kanna-san avoided him even with her back towards him," cried Orihime with a rather dismayed tone as she had always thought of Reni being perfect at these things.

"I was just distracted," Reni, answered quickly, "I'll go and wash up." With that she ran towards the direction of the Teigeki before anyone could question her.

"Reni you'll come find us in the amusement park right?" Iris shouted after Reni who turned and waved to indicate that she had heard before continuing running.

"Reni-han doesn't seem to be herself today," Kohran voiced out loud. "I've never seen her so distracted since last time." Everyone recalled of the time Reni had first lost focus and fell victim to Saki's mind control.

"Distracted huh? I'm a little worried. Maybe I should follow her and check up on her," mused Ohgami.

"Showei-san, are you going to offer to scrub her back _again_?" Orihime asked suspiciously. Her eyes narrowed when she remembered how Reni once privately told her how Ohgami had at first found out about Reni's gender.

"Eh? But that was-"

"_Ohgaaami-san" _Sakura's anger-filled voice came from behind Ohgami, making him feel that someone had just lit a bonfire behind him. "_What does she mean by again?_"

"Sakura-san! It's not what you think! I was jus-"

"Ohgami-san you pervert!" Sakura sent a huge slap across Ohgami's face, making him perform a 720-degree spin before crashing headfirst into the nearby tables of other customers.

Ohgami got up quickly, still trying to explain. He turned to Maria for help but Maria turned to her fellow teammates and said, "Sah! Minna-san, lets go to the amusement park now. Taichou will settle all our bills here."

"Even Maria-san..." Ohgami whined hopelessly.

"Sorry oniichan, Iris is with Maria and the others this time," Iris said cheerfully.

The other members waved goodbye to him while Kohran snapped a few pics before leaving.

"Mi-Minna-san," Ohgami stretched his hand out as he watched the others moved further away from him. He was still wallowing in his misfortune when someone tapped on his shoulder. He turned and saw the outstretched hand of an angry café owner, palms up. Ohgami sighed and felt sorry for his wallet.

* * *

Reni was sweating after the jog from the café to the Teigeki. Years of training in sickening conditions had been bearable with her lack of emotions but now for the first time in her life she felt the uncomfortableness of having sticky hair and face mixed with sweat. 

The Teigeki was empty today as it was a holiday that day and Reni was glad she did not pass by anyone on her way to the bathroom. It took her only a few seconds to strip off her clothes and started bathing, grateful that the Teigeki have ample supply of hot water.

When she was satisfied that she had removed the smell of orange on her, she dried herself and was about to exit the bathroom when she noticed the standing mirror in the bathroom. She then realised she never really did look at herself in the mirror before and with a little hesitation, she approached it.

Without knowing why, she looked around to make sure no one was looking before she dropped her towel in front of the mirror and observed her reflection.

An attractive young girl with a dancer's figure and a cute face looked back at her. She was one of those late developers, her curves haven't fully formed yet but Reni did not see nor realise these. Unconsciously she had begun comparing herself with the other members of the Hanagumi.

_I'm just a child._ Reni thought. She suddenly felt extremely depressed when she recalled the excellent figures Maria and the others have. _How can Taichou be attracted to me when there are so many others to choose?_

The sound of the sliding door opening made Reni jump. When she turned she saw Yuri, wrapped in her towel at the doorway.

"Oh, hi Reni, what are yo-"

Before Yuri could finish her sentence, Reni had grabbed her towel from the floor and hastily covered herself before rushing pass her, leaving the brunette wondering what had just happened. A million theories raced through her mind as she headed to the bath, feeling a hot gossip about to come up.

Still blushing at being found out by Yuri, Reni hurriedly dressed in her usual spring attire before she headed towards the amusement park. She had made up her mind; she would ask Ohgami directly how he sees her. A teammate or something more?

To be continued...

* * *

After countless editing and re-editing, I've decided "To hell with it!" and post this fic. 

Please R&R so I have the motivation to write on.


	2. Hell Express, Wrong Answer

* * *

Author's message: 

Thank you! Thank you for your nice reviews. As anyone might have guessed I am a complete Reni fan. Heck I started playing Sakura Taisen series just because of her.

To answer some queries. YES this WILL be an Ohgami & Reni love fic if I don't screw up muahahahaha.

The "scrub his back" option will appear when Ohgami visits Reni at the baths after visiting her in the gym at Chapter 3. He discovers Reni is a girl when he did that.

Now on to the story after the disclaimer.

Disclaimer: I do not own Sakura Taisen nor any of the characters. This story is mine.

* * *

Ohgami's eyes swept through the crowd in front of him, sometimes squinting when he tried to focus and sometimes frowning when his view was blocked by some random passer-by. However, he did not give up scanning the endless sea of people visiting the amusement park, hoping to spot the one person he was looking for coming through the entrance. He was so entranced in his search that he didn't realize that Iris was pulling the sleeve of his shirt. 

"Oni-I-chan," Iris called with a singsong voice but Ohgami was still looking intently at something far away that Iris cannot see.

"Muu... **O_niichan!_**" Iris called more impatiently, now tugging harder at Ohgami's sleeve.

"Huh? Oh! Yes, Iris, what is it?" Ohgami turned towards to the small blonde.

"Neh! Neh! Oniichan! Iris wants to ride the Hell Express. Sumire recommended it and Maria says we can all do it!"

At first, Ohgami was a bit reluctant but seeing Iris' eyes practically glowing with expectation, he nodded and Iris squealed in joy, pulling him towards the line waiting to board the Hell Express. The rest of the Hanagumi were there, waiting for Ohgami.

The Hell Express was none other but the largest, longest and most insane roller coaster ride in Teito and in East Asia. As they waited to board the roller coaster, Ohgami noticed that most of the people getting off looked like zombies and a sense of uneasiness settled in his stomach. _Looks like I AM heading into hell._

* * *

Reni arrived at the amusement park still thinking in what way should she ask Ohgami her questions. The nearer she got to the amusement park, the more uncertain she felt she wanted to ask her question. Her mind went through all the possible answers Ohgami might give her and most of them ate away at the thin strand of confidence she had. The dilemma she faced was driving her insane. 

Ask him and she might face his painful rejection which she never wished to experience. Not ask him and she would forever be tormenting herself by not knowing and doubting.

Trembling with doubt, Reni stopped; the unmoving girl resembled a lone island in the middle of the ever moving and chaotic waves of people around her.

* * *

The insane and outrageous ride finally ended and the Hanagumi stepped out of their cars and stumbled out slowly into the amusement park grounds. Ohgami was panting and a bit unsteady from the ride but he fared better than the others, thanks to his prior experiences in his Koubus in which he had performed his fair share of insane maneuvers. The rest of the Hanagumi weren't so lucky. 

Kanna was literally crawling on the ground, trying desperately not to empty her stomach through her mouth. Orihime and Kohran were supporting each other to stand, each of them pale like a ghost. Sakura had disappeared as soon as they had gotten out, no doubt racing into the makeup rooms conveniently built near the exit. Even the usually cool and collected Maria was pale and wide-eyed, her right hand on her forehead and her left over her stomach. The only others who seemed unaffected were Sumire and Iris (who had teleported away as soon as the ride got tough, coming back during the smoother parts).

"Why... why is that cactus still standing?" Kanna said between breaths, still unable to stand up.

"Oh hohohoho. That's because a barbarian like you can never appreciate the hidden music in this ride."

"Have you...huff huff... gone _**mad**_? What music?"

"Oh hohohoho, that is why I call you a rough country savage. This roller coaster ride is made by the Kanzaki Industries according to my very sophisticated designs. Every rise and fall, twist and turn is placed according to the rhythm of my most recent and fabulous song. Only a person with _stature and culture_ can appreciate the rhythms "

"Hmph! If... huff huff... that is...huff... music, then it must be The Screams from The Asylum!"

"_**Whaaaat**_!?" Sumire was now enraged. "How dare you insult my 'Whispers of The Maidens' like that!"

"Whi-Whispers? Feels more like 'The Wailing of The Banshee' to me!" Kanna retorted, finally gaining her strength to slowly stand up.

"Grrrrrrr... That's it! You're in for it now you gorilla! I demand satisfaction!"

"Heh! Bring it on then! I don't think a spineless snake-woman like you can defeat me!" Kanna replied confidently, cracking her knuckles. The two approached each other and fists and claws began to fly.

Meanwhile, Orihime who was watching the whole scene unfold turned to Kohran. "Are you sure Sumire-san and Kanna-san are not fit to be comedians?" Kohran only gave her a twisted smile.

Ohgami, on the other hand, was still unsure of how he would intervene without being accidentally killed suddenly realized that Iris was pulling his sleeve again.

"Oniichan! Oniichan! Maria-nechan looks very sick. Iris is a bit worried."

"What? Where did she go?"

"She went towards The Flower Gardens I think."

"Alright Iris. I'll go look for her. Meanwhile I'm promoting you to be my temporary second-in-command and stop Sumire and Kanna from killing themselves."

"Really? Wai! Wai! Iris will carry out this mission immediately!" With that, Iris raced towards the fighting duo though Ohgami was unsure how she would stop them.

Not willing to linger any longer, he headed for The Flower Gardens at the east side of the amusement park. On the way, he bumped into dozens of people going in different directions and not realizing, he had passed by Reni who had been searching for the Hanagumi all this time. Reni, however, saw him and tried to call out to him but her voice was lost in the din and the crowd stood between her and him.

Ohgami continued on his way, pushing through scores of people until he finally reached the gardens. There, the crowd had thinned and he made his way under the beautifully flower-decorated arch that served as the entrance, searching the beautiful garden for Maria.

He finally found the tall blonde leaning on the railing surrounding a pond hidden behind some very tall hedges.

Maria still looked extremely sick, her face was pale and she seemed to have trouble standing straight. Ohgami approached her from the side and asked worriedly, "Are you all right Maria?"

"Huh? Taichou? Uh... Yes, yes I'm all right." Maria replied weakly and Ohgami could tell she was anything but all right.

"You sure don't look that. Here, lean onto me, you should sit down." Ohgami said, as he slung Maria's right arm behind his head and supported her waist by putting his left arm around her back.

Maria reluctantly followed, leaning heavily on Ohgami, her head rested on his. Ohgami went red when he saw how close Maria's face was to his when he glanced sideward in her direction. He could also smell the fragrance of her perfume and her hair.

Slowly and steadily, they made their way to a bench not too far back from the pond and Ohgami helped Maria seat herself before he sat next to her. To his surprise, Maria laid her head on his shoulder, her eyes closed.

"Ma-Maria?" Ohgami stammered.

"Just for a while Taichou." Maria answered softly. "Just for a while..." She dosed off soon after that and Ohgami sighed and sat still. He realized Maria had pinned his left arm behind her back and not wishing to disturb Maria's rest, he decided to leave it there. His thoughts, however, was centered on a certain someone. He wondered silently to himself where she could be.

* * *

After her failed attempt to get Ohgami's attention, Reni followed him desperately through the crowd. Her short stature and small frame placed her under an extreme disadvantage. The crowd pulled her back so often that she kept losing track of Ohgami, only to catch a glimpse of him and follow him again. 

By the time Reni squeezed herself out of the annoying mass of human bodies, she caught another glimpse of Ohgami entering the Flower Gardens. Determined not to be left behind again, she practically sprinted towards the gardens.

Fate was unkind to her, however. She did not meet Ohgami in the gardens and had to wander around searching for him again. Many times she thought of giving up the search but her heart yearned for the answers so much that her conscience gave in. She followed her intuition to a wall of high hedges and discovered that there was an entrance she had not noticed before.

The moment Reni passed through the entrance to the Water Lily Pond, a shocking sight beheld her.

Ohgami and Maria were both on a bench asleep with their heads close together. Every detail entered Reni's eyes like a camera.

_T-Taichou?_

A sharp pain in her chest made her grit her teeth and her arms instinctively shot up to hold herself. It was a pain she had never experienced before. It was more intense than any wounds she had suffered and she felt her vision blurred while a huge lump formed in her throat.

So this is the reality. His true love is Maria. How can I be so dense? Why did I ever think that we had something between us?

Reni approached the sleeping couple silently, moving nearer to the sleeping Ohgami.

_Taicho..._

She observed his peaceful countenance; obviously he was having a good dream as a smile was on his lips.

_Is he dreaming about... Maria?_

Blinking tears away, she bit her lower lip and forced herself not to sob. Ohgami's normally spiky hair had fallen down on his forehead. Reni gently brushed them back into place, doing it carefully so as not to alert Ohgami. She looked lovingly at her handiwork, the sorrow she felt did not outweigh the feelings she harboured for Ohgami. Slowly, she bent forward and gently kissed Ohgami on the lips.

_Taichou. I hope you will be happy._

Slowly and reluctantly, she pulled her lips away from Ohgami's and as silently as she came, she slipped away. Her falling tears sparkled under the afternoon sun.

To be continued...

* * *

After bashing my head for days, I've finally came up with the above plot which I hope does not suck. Not too much about Reni this time though I wanted to write more. The circumstances doesn't seemed to allow me though.

Still don't know what will come up next. If no one has guessed it yet, I have absolutely no idea how this fic will turn out since I'm doing the "walk one step, count a step" thing.

Please R&R. Opinions or suggestions of anything that you might want to know or see in this fic is welcomed.

Unfortunately, my externals are coming up so I have to sadly turn away from writing for some time. My earliest update will most likely be in the end of November or early December provided that my family doesn't bug me.


	3. Back In The Theater

_Author's message_

Ah know, ah know. I said I wouldn't update until december but I can't help it. I was I afraid I would forget my ideas by december.

Disclaimer: I do not own the Sakura Taisen series and any of the characters.

_

* * *

_

_Taichou..._

"R-Reni?"

Ohgami's eyes snapped open and he immediately looked to his right, towards the exit.

No one.

No one there except Maria who still slept beside him.

_Strange. I swore I heard Reni._

There was something in the voice in his head that worried him.

It had sounded so sad.

Before Ohgami could ponder further, Maria stirred beside him. She yawned and stretched, making light satisfied sounds as she did so. However, as she opened her jade green eyes, they widened at the sight of Ohgami so close to her.

"T-Taichou? Why are we- Where am-"

Then the events of the last hour came back hitting her like a train. Maria's gloved hand shot to her wide-open mouth and her face was reddening furiously.

_At least she got her colours back._ Ohgami thought. Out loud he chuckled.

"W-what are you laughing at!" Maria cried exasperatedly, trying to cover her hot cheeks.

"Sorry," Ohgami replied, his smile still plastered onto his face. "It's a rare thing to see you blush after all."

"S-stop it!"

"And I never thought you look so cute when you are asleep."

"T-taichou!" Maria cried, sounding a lot like Iris even though she tried to keep a straight face and hiding it behind her gloves at the same time.

"Alright! Alright! I'm stopping." Ohgami said, getting up. "Come on, we have to find where everyone is. They must be wondering where we are by now."

At the mention of the rest of the Hanagumi, Maria shot up from her seat and followed Ohgami to the exit, passing him a little bit too hurriedly.

Ohgami stifled another chuckle at Maria's back but when he reached the exit, a sudden wave of sorrow passed through him.

Ohgami halted. Maria apparently didn't feel it as she was continuing walking at her hastening pace. Ohgami lingered a while, outstretching his right hand to touch the hedge walls near the exit before he left. Uneasiness filled his stomach.

Unknown to Ohgami, Reni had collapsed with grief at that very spot just a little over an hour ago.

* * *

Kaede was descending the main stairs when the Hanagumi returned.

She was rather intrigued and amused when she saw the state they had returned in was completely different from what she had expected.

Kanna's face and skin were red with claw marks and her clothing was shredded. Sumire was black and blue all over, her kimono barely intact. Both of them also looked as if they had been in a huge explosion. They were keeping a fair amount of distance between themselves, apparently having not cooled off yet.

Kaede could see that Maria was walking a tad bit far away from Ohgami and was stealing glances at him. Sakura was looking like the walking dead with Orihime supporting her and eating a piece of takoyaki Kohran was feeding her. Obviously the smell of takoyaki was killing Sakura but the two didn't notice.

Ohgami had a troubled look on his face and he walked at some distance behind the rest of the members, obviously not wanting to let them see his expression.

Iris was the only one besides Orihime and Kohran who seemed to still have a smile plastered to her face. She seemed quite pleased with herself as if she had accomplished something important.

"Kaede onechan! Kaede onechan!" Iris greeted her happily, running up the stairs and clinging onto her waist.

"Hai hai Iris-chan. Why are you so happy?" Kaede ask softly.

"Oniichan made me a temporary second today and I stopped Sumire and Kanna from fighting! Does this mean that I'm a grown-up now?"

"Yes, yes. Now go and wash and change you little grownup."

"Haaaai!" Iris replied before running off.

"Kaede-san, we'll be taking Sakura-han to the infirmary then," Kohran suggested as she took her turn supporting Sakura.

"Cherry-san is so useless," Orihime sighed, shaking her head, jamming her box of takoyaki in Sakura's face.

"Kill me..." Sakura pleaded as the smell of squid invaded her nose, making her about to empty her already empty stomach.

Kaede was watching the stumbling trio as they made their way to the infirmary when Kanna and Sumire passed her; both with their heads turned away from each other but were polite enough to mutter a low greeting to her. Maria followed them, only pausing to report that they had come back, all the while avoiding the sharp woman's questioning eyes.

It was Ohgami's turn to walk towards Kaede and she noticed that he REALLY was troubled. With the furrowed brow, an upside-down smile and all. She also noticed that one person was missing.

"Kaede-san/Ohgami-san, where's Reni?" They both asked at the same time.

They both looked at each other, shock registering on their faces.

"She wasn't home?"

"I-I don't know. I've been busy preparing reports in my room for the whole day. Didn't she go out with you?"

"She did. Then she came back to change and I haven't seen her since."

"That is unusual."

"I know. I'm gonna check her room first. Don't tell the others yet. I don't want to alarm them if it turns out to be nothing."

"Want me to follow you?"

"No. I'll check it out myself."

Kaede watched Ohgami ascending the stairs in a slight hurry. She was a bit worried but she was confident that whatever the problem is, Ohgami will solve it.

* * *

Reni sat in the corner of her dark room, hugging her legs. She had cried herself to sleep and had just woken up.

But the world she had awoken into was filled with harsh realities. The memory of her pain only served to resurface it and forced her to start sobbing again.

She buried her face into her arms, her eyes were already swollen from hours of crying but she wept anyway. She could not remember how long since she had cried this much. The Wachstum Projekt had erased most of her childhood memories but one.

She did not remember how old she was then but she now knew the reason she had cried then. It was the same as today. She had cried because of lost and loneliness.

Footsteps outside her door made her turn her head. The footsteps halted at her door and someone knocked. Reni remained silent, only wishing to be left alone.

Alone. She was always alone. Even in the company of the Hanagumi, she never did feel as a part of it.

The light knocking persisted and someone called her name.

She recognized the voice. Her heart wanted so very much to get near him but her mind forbade her. She sat there, glancing at the door, wishing he would go away even though she didn't want that.

Ohgami tried the knob but it was no use. She had locked it. She was torn between unlocking it and just staying there but the sounds outside stopped. She heard Ohgami walked away.

A deep sense of disappointment settled in but she was glad of it too.

_Maria wouldn't have liked it if he came into my room. What would she think?_

Then the sounds of footfall came back and this time she heard something inserted into her doorknob and the door creaked open.

In a panic, Reni did the only thing she could to prevent a confrontation. She hid her face in her arms and pretended to sleep. The familiar footsteps entered her room and the door closed behind it.

* * *

Ohgami let out his breath in relief when he saw Reni's balled-up form at the corner of the room, obviously asleep.

_You sure had me worried me sick._

Ohgami approached Reni, grabbing her blanket from the only chair in the room and, carefully, wrapped it around her. He had a mind of rubbing her hair but he was afraid of waking her up so he just watched her.

_Sleep tight and sweet dreams Reni._

Ohgami stood up and quietly left the room, making a mental note to ask her why she hadn't gone to the park.

* * *

After the door closed, Reni looked up. A warm feeling entered her as she pulled the blanket tighter around her. A confused mix of delight and regret was all she felt about this incident.

Then, the alarm went off.

To be continued...

* * *

Please R&R. Coming up next, a battle!


	4. A Battle Gone Awry

Author's message

Another one of my hasty ideas turned into fic. Might be a bit long and predictable.

Disclaimer: I do not own Sakura Taisen or any of the characters.

* * *

The members of the Hanagumi assembled at the command centre in full gear in less than a minute However, General Yoneda was unpleased. 

"**Ohgami!_ Where_** are Reni and Sakura?"

"Sakura is still unfit for duty sir. As for Reni..." Ohgami trailed off. Not sure what to say. 

Yoneda grunted disapprovingly. "I'll deal with you later. Meanwhile get to Asakusa immediately. Seems like there are 4 Koumas tearing the place apart."

Kaede stepped forward, a report from the Tsukigumi in her hand. "It seems like these Koumas have been tested on by Kyougoku before their escape so be sharp everyone. Kayama says these are quite different than the ones we've seen before."

Ohgami nodded and gave the order to move out. However things weren't meant to go smoothly that day. On their way to the Koubu hangar, Sumire collapsed.

Kanna slowed and turn towards the heir to the Kanzaki family. "Hey princess, is the fact that one of your shopping haunts is being destroyed so devastating to you?"

When no rebuttal came from Sumire, Kanna got nearer to check up on her when she noticed that Sumire was gasping in pain. "Taichou! Taichou! Sumire doesn't look good!"

Ohgami and the rest of the Hanagumi screeched to a halt and raced back to the duo. Meanwhile, Sumire struggled to get up and she looked whiter than a sheet of paper. "Don't worry about me," she gasped, "I can still fight."

"No you're not." Ohgami answered firmly. "Iris, get Kaede and take Sumire to the infirmary. The rest of you, move out!"

Maria nodded and led the team towards the hangar. Kanna lingered a bit before joining them.

To their amazement, Reni was already inside her Koubu Kai and waiting to be transported to their destination. Without time to ponder on, they hopped into their respective Koubus and set off.

* * *

The Hanagumi were still in the air when Ohgami decided to open a private channel to Reni. He was surprised when he found out that Reni had turned off her visual feed. 

"Reni? Are you ok? You didn't turn up for the meeting and you've switched off your video feed."

Reni remained silent. Her eyes had swollen and she didn't want anyone to know that she was crying. Especially Ohgami..

"Reni?"

"I'm alright. Please remain focused." Reni answered in her old robotic voice.

Ohgami was taken aback by what she said and the tone she used but he decided to dismiss it. "Very well then. Good luck and be careful on the ground."

It was 10 seconds before touchdown and Reni discovered that her head felt rather heavy. She shook her head to clear it but it made her feel disoriented. _What's wrong with me today?_

Then they hit the ground.

* * *

"Teigoku Kakegidan sanzho!" The group chanted their before-battle slogan. 

The group had landed in the now deserted streets of an utterly destroyed Asakusa, noting the various holes in the ground.

"Kohran, where are the Koumas?" Maria queried.

"I'm reading their signals but- Below us!" Kohran exclaimed.

The Hanagumi leapt upwards instinctively. And as expected, 4 huge shadows burst from the ground and tried to take a bite out of their respective targets but missed. They landed and when the cloud of dirt and dust settled, the Hanagumi was shocked at the sight of the new Koumas.

The Koumas resembled their black leathery kin but they have brownish skin, no wings, 4 sharp pointed legs like a bug and a huge long razor-sharp tail. These Koumas obviously cannot stand upright as their legs are short and close to the ground, no doubt easier for them to burrow quickly.

The hideous beasts did not stay still for long and two of them converged on Kanna and another two on Ohgami as they were the nearest.

Kanna dodged the first one but the second one latched onto her, pushing her down to the ground with its tail ready to punch through her Koubu Kai. Maria saw this and fired a shot at the Kouma's head, the blow succeeded in bending its head backwards. Orihime saw the opportunity and fired her laser beams into its gaping jaws, penetrating its soft parts and fried its brains.

Unfortunately, her victory was short-lived when the first one that Kanna dodged had suddenly appeared behind her and slashed off her Koubu Kai's arm. Startled, Orihime fired another volley of lasers into the Kouma's stomach but it was useless. The beast slashed at her again with its tail, tearing her armour and exposing the cockpit, revealing the terrified Italian inside.

Kanna came to her rescue as she tackled the monster, pulling it away from Orihime and throwing it into the sky. Maria took this chance and fired away but her shots did not even dent the creature's hide.

"Damn it! Taichou! Orihime is down and their hides are impenetrable!" Maria shouted.

Meanwhile, Ohgami was busy parrying attacks from two Koumas with Kohran supporting him with her rockets. The monsters were obviously annoyed by Kohran's constant barrage and directed their attention to her.

Kohran panicked when the two of them began charging towards her and her Koubu tripped. Just as it seems everything was over, Reni charged from behind Kohran and plunged her lance into the lead demon's mouth. The other jumped away in fright and burrowed into the ground.

Then, it was quiet.

"Orihime! Get to the evac point. Maria! Status report!" Ohgami finally gave his orders.

"Two Koumas left Taichou. All Koubu Kais except Orihime's are still operational." Maria's cool report came in.

Before Ohgami could give further orders, Kanna screamed as something pulled her Koubu down into the ground.

"Kanna!" They all yelled.

Ohgami and Reni arrived first and pulled at the sinking Kanna. Maria and Kohran fired at the ground around them, hoping the demons would let go. They did and Ohgami and Reni were able to pull Kanna's legless Koubu free.

Kanna climbed out of the top hatch of her Koubu Kai and signalled that she was all right. Ohgami ordered her to evacuate herself too.

"Kohran! Do you have any ideas on how to force these demons out onto the ground?" Ohgami asked.

"Heh heh. I knew that this would happen so I have just the equipment for the task!" answered a beaming Kohran. She adjusted a few dials in her controls and the speaker above her Koubu began to emit high pitch sound waves. "This will make these Koumas so uncomfortable, I'm sure they'll pop out of their hidey-holes soon."

In fact, Kohran's equipment was so annoying that the enraged Koumas suddenly burst out in front and behind her, wanting to tear the infernal speaker apart. The one behind her took a bite at the speaker and the rocket pack behind her Koubu, blowing itself apart. Fortunately, the explosion was contained inside the Kouma so Kohran and the demon in front of her were just blown away by the force and not killed. Nevertheless, Kohran was out of action as the explosion knocked her out.

The last demon burrowed into the ground again and the remaining members of the Hanagumi prepared for its attack.

"Everyone keep close! Keep in Delta formation!" Ohgami ordered.

The three remaining Koubu Kais formed a small triangle with Ohgami and Maria back-to-back and Reni as the third point, each of them covering one direction in their field of vision.

The wait was long as the Kouma made no move. The trio's sensors were useless so they have to rely on their instincts. The tense situation was especially hard on Reni as she was unable to keep her focus. She was sweating all over and her vision was extremely blurry. Nevertheless, her battle intuition kicked in as she felt something moving towards Maria and Ohgami.

_No! Not the two of them!_

In haste, Reni pushed Maria and Ohgami out of the way, exposing her left side. The demon took the chance and emerged from the ground; one of its forelegs penetrated the side of Reni's Koubu Kai and into her cockpit. The young pilot screamed in pain as the razor-like leg made a deep cut at her side.

In an act of defiance, Reni tried to swing around and stab the hungry demon but it had already leapt away.

"**RENI!**" Ohgami shouted frantically.

"I'm all right. Don't worry about me," Reni said through gritted teeth as she held her bloodied side with her left hand.

"Taichou! It's heading for the park!" Maria reported.

"Damn it! Reni, evacuate! Maria lets go!" Ohgami commanded.

* * *

For a quarter of an hour the duo battled the lone Kouma but neither side won. The last demon was extremely cunning and exercised its advantage under the park grounds, never staying on the surface long enough for Maria or Ohgami to attack. The duo had found out that the demon focused on attacking Ohgami and devised a simple plan. Ohgami would act as bait. 

However, things went awry. When Maria positioned herself some distance away from Ohgami to ambush the demon, the ambusher became the ambushed.

The demon had crept behind Maria without her noticing it and knocked her Koubu Kai into a facedown position. As the creature approached to deliver a finishing blow into Maria's cockpit with its tail, a blue Koubu Kai darted out from a nearby bush and placed itself between the tail and Maria.

The tail severed a power cable in the blue Koubu Kai's shoulder, creating a short in the electrical circuit, shocking both pilot and demon. Reni, even though in agony, held onto the tail and screamed at Maria to open fire.

Maria didn't hesitate. Her aim was true and her shot blew a hole where right the head of the demon had been.

Ohgami, who noticed the commotion rushed over to find both Reni's and Maria's Koubu Kais on the ground. He dreaded at the sight and got out of his Koubu Kai immediately.

"Reni! Maria! Are you ok?" Ohgami shouted. He was relieved to see Maria's hatch opened up and a staggering but otherwise unhurt Maria climbed out. Nevertheless, he was still worried when there was no activity from the blue Koubu Kai.

The still-standing members of the Hanagumi rushed towards Reni and opened the hatch. The sight that greeted them was bleak.

Reni laid, unconscious, in her bloodstained chair, the left side of her uniform was soaked in an expanding patch of red.

* * *

Oh man, I should have just summarised the battle but I hate summarising something. I keep feeling something is amiss if I do that. Anyway, I hope nobody dozed off in this action part. Next up, we will be back into the wonderful world of Romance. 

R&R please.


	5. Aftermath

Author's message

Finally! An update. I know I'm playing with fire here with the exams around the corner but I cannot stop myself from writing!

Disclaimer: I do not own Sakura Taisen or any of its characters. This story is mine.

* * *

"**DAMN IT**!" Ohgami screamed, bashing his right fist onto the infirmary wall outside the emergency room under the Teigeki. He glanced in rage at the red fist mark he had left on the white wall. 

_Reni's blood. Why does it have to be Reni's? Not mine?_

But Ohgami wished very much that it were his. The past half hour had been an absolute nightmare. The minute he saw Reni's bloody condition, he pulled her out, applied pressure to her wound by tying a strip of cloth torn from his shirt and carried her into his Koubu Kai, using his jet pack to propel him back to the Teigeki with speed; a fact Yoneda was extremely unpleased with but Ohgami had no time to think about Yoneda's lectures or any repercussions that his actions might have caused.

_As long as she is all right, I don't care what punishment I'll get._

The rest of the Hanagumi were behind him, staying at a respectable distance. They had never seen Ohgami so angry before and thought it would be wise not to stay too close even if his rage was not directed at them. Their leader looked like an avenging devil, the white of his uniform was virtually non-existent, having being drenched heavily in the red of Reni's blood.

After a few moments of silence, a still-uniformed Maria approached Ohgami, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Maybe you should take a break Taichou," she said softly.

Maria took a step back when Ohgami gave her a murderous glance but that expression softened to one that was filled with weariness and distress. "You're right Maria. I'm sorry," he said tiredly and shuffled out of the infirmary. The Hanagumi let him pass, each of them felt rather low at seeing Ohgami like this.

Maria clapped her hands to gather the rest of the Hanagumi's attention and ordered them to go back doing their duties before she left herself, hoping that the military doctor in the emergency ward could save the silver-haired wunderkind.

Meanwhile, Kanna, Sumire and Sakura were the only ones left in the infirmary. Sakura was asleep throughout the whole incident thanks to the medicine Kohran had forced her to gulp down just before the battle. Kanna checked on the sleeping young actress first and was pleased to see that at least she looked more human than before.

Then, slightly embarrassed, she approached Sumire's bed. The self-proclaimed top star still looked a bit pale but whatever medication was going into her veins through the IV tubes was definitely helping her.

"Uh... how are you doing Sumire?"

"Kanna-san? I'm all right. It's nothing serious really." Sumire replied rather weakly, her usual haughtiness missing.

"Well that's good. Nothing serious I hope." Kanna said scratching the back of her head, obviously wanting to say something else.

"Kanna-san, stop beating around the bush."

"Umm... Iris told me that you have a stomach-ache and I was afraid that... umm... you know..."

"Ohohoho, so you think that your lousy punches are enough to keep me down? You'll have to do better than that!" Sumire mocked the reddening Kanna as she caught onto what she was trying to say.

However, the redhead did not snap back at the sick girl like she used to, instead she still wore a concerned expression on her face. Sumire, realising that Kanna was being serious regretted her initial rebuttal. After some thought, she bent her forefinger inwards twice to signal Kanna to lean forward and whispered something into her ear.

"Oh? _Oh_! "Kanna stood back in realisation. "So it's that time of the month..."

"**SHHHHHH!!!"** Sumire hissed angrily, her face glowing with embarrassment as her eyes swept left and right to search for eavesdroppers.

"Don't worry. You're secret's safe with me," Kanna assured, her usual big grin finally appearing but it dropped when she remembered that it wasn't really the time to be smiling about anything.

Sumire caught the sudden change in expression and leaned forward to her friend. "What happened just now? How did Reni get hurt so bad?"

Kanna sighed as she recalled what she heard had happened from Maria and repeated it to the attentive young star.

* * *

"So that's what happened," Iris said softly, cradling Jean-Paul and sobbing. "Iris should have gone too to help. If Iris had gone, Reni wouldn't be dying and Oniichan and Maria-onechan won't be blaming themselves." 

"Now, now Iris" comforted Orihime, "Reni won't die so easily from a wound like that. She is **_WAY_** tougher than anyone in the world!"

"Really?" Iris glanced at her hopefully with watery eyes.

"Of course! I've known her far longer than all of you and she won't be beaten that easily."

"Sniff sniff. Thank you Orihime. You'd better be telling the truth." Iris hugged Orihime tightly around the waist.

"Now, now Iris. If you are a grown-up you should cry less and try to think positively. Come on, do you want me to play you a song?"

"Sure." Iris nodded enthusiastically, her smile returning.

"Lets see..." Orihime sat down on her chair and turned towards the piano. Her fingers positioned themselves and began to dance across the keyboard. Iris sat closely, listening to the slow but rather comforting tune being played by the Italian pianist.

* * *

"What in heavens did this?" Engineer A whistled as he observed the hole in the side of Reni's Koubu Kai. 

"Heard it was some experimental badass that did this. I hope the pilot lives through this," Engineer B replied from under the Koubu.

Before A could say something back, Kohran stepped up, her glasses flashing as she remarked," You two better start working and quit yapping or I'll have Mr P here teach you a lesson." On her hand she held a menacing looking robot holding a miniature whip and wearing an S&M costume.

"Uhh... right away mam," A acknowledged hastily and began washing the cockpit with haste.

"Kohran's mood turned sour as she saw the amount of red water pouring out the side of the Koubu.

_It's my fault. I should have increased the thickness of her armour months ago._

"Yo Kohran-san. You shouldn't be blaming yourself," the cheerful voice of Kayama came from behind.

"K-Kayama-san? How did you know? Why are you here?"

"It's easy to tell isn't it? You have a frown all over your face." The man in white tuxedo and cow-patched tie responded.

How he could see her expression from her back totally escaped her but she knew it was pointless to ask. "So why are you here again?"

Kayama's expression turned serious. "It's possible that there might be more of these things lurking around. It's my job to assess their power and formulate an effective strategy against them if the need arises." An aloof smile reappeared, "Then again, I'm just enjoying the sea. Lalalala..."

Kohran observed the enigmatic man spin around on one foot in the hangar before disappearing into the shadows. The man's sudden appearances and sudden disappearances never cease to amaze the young inventor and the bizarreness of the situation lifted the mood of this always high-spirited girl.

"Yosh! I'll just have to design a new Koubu so something like this never happens again!"

* * *

Ohgami sat on _her_ bench in the courtyard, sighing. He didn't know since when he had started thinking the bench he sat on was _hers _but Reni had always enjoyed basking under the sun right there. He sat a little to the left from the centre of the bench, not willing to sit on her spot. It just felt wrong to do that. He sighed again and looked upwards, the star-filled sky and the silver moon filled his view, reminding him even more of Reni and of the guilt and grief he felt within him. 

He could still see her blood on his hands and shirt even though he had washed and changed. The scene in his cockpit kept replaying over and over again in his mind. Reni was bleeding slowly to death from the huge gash at her side and he couldn't help her.

The sound of crunching grass behind him informed him of someone's approach.

It was Maria.

Maria had changed into her usual purple coat plus red gloves and she had seen Ohgami sitting alone outside through her window. It didn't take a genius to figure out that Ohgami was thinking about Reni, seeing that he was sitting on Reni's favourite bench.

She slowly approached him and sat on his left, also avoiding the centre of the bench, which was on his right. Maria knew all too well where Reni sits all the time, Ohgami wasn't the only one who is observant.

They sat like that, shoulder to shoulder in silence for some time. Maria didn't know how to begin and Ohgami didn't have anything to say.

Finally, she decided to break the ice.

"Taichou... It's not your fault you know. If you need someone to blame, then blame me. Reni suffered because of me."

Ohgami remained silent. A few minutes passed before he shook his head, a slight turn of the head. "No Maria. I can't blame you or anyone else for the matter. I should have ordered a retreat. What kind of commander would continue to pursue a fleeing target with heavy losses on his side?"

"Our kind of commander."

Ohgami faced Maria the first time since she sat down. A slightly confused expression can be seen on his face.

"Taichou. You chased that demon because you wanted to stop it from killing more innocents again. You acted like anyone would have expected to act. You did nothing wrong."

"But if I had just given up. Reni's wound would have been tended to."

"And you would be blaming yourself when that demon starts to feed again. Reni would be blaming herself forever if you did that."

"I... I just don't want to see her hurt," Ohgami said, his voice breaking up slightly as he fought his tears.

Maria remained silent, taking in Ohgami's last reply.

"Do you care about her?" She finally asked.

"Yes."

"Do you... love... her?"

"I don't know." Ohgami sighed. "She's important to me but so is everyone else here. I don't know if my feelings for her could be called love. All I know is that I can't bear to see her hurt and her smiles are... They are just the most beautiful things in the world."

Maria nodded. "She does have a great smile."

"I'm just afraid that I'll never see her smile ever again."

"**Don't you ever think like that!**"

Ohgami was startled by Maria's angry outburst. Her eyes were brimming with tears, which sparkled under the moonlight.

"Taicho, you are the one who taught us never to give up. Don't give up now. Please... for her sake."

Maria's words stirred Ohgami's inside. The man who never gave up inside him finally decided to resurface from his shell of depression. Maria noticed the change as Ohgami's expression finally hardened to the one she recognised, the Taichou that everyone loved was finally back.

Ohgami looked back at Maria, his smile returning.

"Thank you Maria. You're right. I shouldn't be giving up now. Even if Reni does, I won't let her."

"Good. Now go to her. She'll need you now more than ever."

Ohgami nodded and to Maria's surprise he gave her a quick hug before he rushed back inside.

Maria stood under the moonlight, watching with a still-thumping heart at the running figure of Ohgami Ichiro.

_I hope I'm doing the right thing. Taichou..._

To be continued..._

* * *

_

Yup. Finally finished this part. I know I said I wanted to write a romantic piece between Ohgami and our all time favourite Reni but then I realised that what the hell would the other people be doing while Reni's in an operation. Besides I haven't explained how Sumire suddenly got sick.

Aiyaya. After reading again what I wrote, I just found out that I left Sakura out a lot. Please do not kill me ol' Sakura fans.

Next! Reni & Ohgami in the spotlight! (I hope)


	6. White Lie, Positive Results

Author's notes

I wrote three different versions for this chapter and finally got the one I'm most satisfied with. I hope this chapter appeals to you ppl.

There are many words in bold here, a technic I've adopted from GTO mangas. Ahh... brings back memories.

Timeline answer. Unfortunately I haven't played Sakura Taisen 4 yet(damn it!), so I can't set these events after that. If you need a definite time, then i guess it would be some time after Sakura Taisen 2 and before Ohgami gets his orders to go to Paris. There is some blank space in that period and so with this lame reason, I place these events there.

Disclaimer: I do not own Sakura Taisen and any of the characters.

* * *

Reni opened her eyes slightly, the brightly lit emergency ward made her squint as she tried to focus. Her head felt heavy and whatever drugs still in her system was making her dizzy. 

"Thank you doctor for saving her life." Reni heard Kaede said somewhere near her feet.

"You're welcome but I didn't really do much." A male voice replied. "The wound on her side wasn't too bad, nothing vital got damaged. She's lucky that guy... what's his name?"

"Ensign Ohgami Ichiro."

"Yes, she's lucky that he brought her in so quickly. Another few minutes and there won't be enough blood for her heart to pump."

"But I still thank you for getting the blood transfusion done so quickly."

"You're welcome again but I do wonder about General Yoneda's judgement in sending a sick girl like her to the field."

"Excuse me?"

"Reni here has a fever. Don't you know?"

"It's not the General's fault," Reni said weakly as she tried to sit up, "I went on my own accord."

Shocked, Kaede immediately pushed her back down. The old doctor looked through his spectacles in wonder at the girl's ability to regain consciousness so soon.

"Reni, you mustn't get up yet. You might split your wound." Kaede said softly. Reni obeyed and stayed silent.

"Well, I better get going then. You know where to reach me when you need me." The doctor said and he exited the room with his black medical bag.

"Kaede-san, what happened?" Reni asked the brunette in uniform.

"You don't remember?"

"Nothing after the shock."

"You were unconscious from blood loss. Ohgami brought you back just in time," Kaede said. She chuckled and added, "He broke every rule in the book to get you back here."

Seeing Reni's clueless expression, Kaede added again, "He landed his Koubu Kai right outside the main entrance of the Teigeki and carried you all the way to the infirmary. If there were any witnesses then, the Tsukigumi would definitely have a hard time covering up and Ohgami would most certainly be executed."

"Is Taichou in trouble? Please don't blame him! It's my f-"Reni grimaced in pain as she tried to sit up again.

"Now, now Reni. What did I tell you?" Kaede remarked sternly as she laid the teenager back down again. However, Reni's reaction brought out her matchmaking instincts. An evil idea manifested in her mind.

Kaede sighed dramatically before she said in a sympathetic tone, "Ohgami Ichiro won't be executed since his services and abilities had been valuable to us but because of his actions, we have no choice but to send him to prison for the rest of his life."

"No! Please don't do this!" Reni screamed frantically, trying to get up again. This time Kaede was ready and her hand pressed firmly on Reni's chest, preventing her from getting up. The unusual reaction from Reni amused Kaede and she felt more mischievous.

"There, there Reni," Kaede said soothingly, "it's not like you won't see him forever. I guarantee we will take time to visit him in the **cold dark** cells of **Teito Maximum** **Security Prison**. However, we can only visit him for **an hour every 20 years** provided that he could **survive** that long. I hear that the inmates there **really** love to **dissect** **naval officers** like Ohgami Ichiro."

Reni now looked totally devastated, fear and sadness mixed with a sense of lost and disbelief raged inside her like an internal emotional whirlpool. She mumbled the word "No" repeatedly to herself.

This was the first time Kaede had seen so many emotions displayed by Reni in a day and it only added to her good-intentioned wickedness. Sighing dramatically again, she said, "Poor Ohgami Ichiro, all **alone** and **unloved** in that **dreadful, dreadful** place, just to **rot** away into nothing. I wonder how he will live his **last** night **ever** here?"

This brought Reni's attention back to Kaede. "Please! Kaede-san, can I see him tonight?" Her eyes were watering now.

Kaede felt a little guilty now but to reach her 'wonderful' goal, she must stand firm. Pretending to look sad and sympathetic, Kaede looked away as if considering Reni's words. "I don't know Reni. He is under solitary confinement and the general has ordered that he be **shot** if he comes out."

"Please Kaede-san. I'm begging you! I **_need_** to see him. I don't want things to go like this! Not without seeing him one last time. Please, can't you ask Kayama? I... I..." Reni pleaded, holding tightly to Kaede's arm and choking with sobs.

Kaede let out another stage-worthy sigh. "I'll see what I can do. But don't keep your hopes up. You just stay here alright?"

Reni nodded, wiping her tears and watching Kaede with a small glimmer of hope in her eyes.

Kaede left the room, making a show of shaking her head for the benefit of her act in front of Reni. She exited and locked the door.

_This is the first time I've seen her cried. She must really love Ohgami. You lucky, lucky man._ Kaede thought as she chuckled softly. _Now where is he?_

* * *

Ohgami was descending the steps towards the basement when Kaede bumped into him. She transformed into an Oscar nominee actress on the fly. 

Kaede looked sad and she managed to get some tears into her eyes to make them look watery. She sobbed slightly as she avoided Ohgami's face.

"What's wrong Kaede, you look so sad." Ohgami asked inquisitively.

"N-Nothing. There's just something in my eyes," Kaede responded with a slight hiccup and made it obvious that she was 'actually worried' about Reni by turning and looking at the infirmary behind her.

Ohgami noticed her move clearly and he went pale immediately. "Tell me Kaede! Is Reni ok?" He grabbed Kaede's shoulder and was almost shouting in worry.

Kaede avoided his eyes and added unconvincingly, "No, really Ohgami-san, there's just dust in my eyes. Really."

This only made Ohgami even more agitated. "There is obviously something wrong here. Kaede, stop lying to me and tell me what's wrong with Reni!"

Kaede made a show of shaking her head and let out her award-winning sigh. She signalled Ohgami to follow her to the locker rooms, pretending to be too depressed to talk. Ohgami followed with increasing dread in his every step.

To make it feel more dramatic, Kaede remained silent and refused to look Ohgami in the eye. The exasperated young man finally couldn't stand it anymore. "Kaede-san, what is wrong with Reni?" Ohgami's impatience had reached an all-new peak when Kaede still refused to speak, only sobbing lightly and wiping her tears.

"Please tell me Kaede. Is... Is she...dead?" Ohgami whispered his worst fears.

"No Ohgami-san. She's **dying**." Kaede replied softly.

The words hit him harder than a sledgehammer swung by a wrestler.

"No... No!" Ohgami screamed, yet he knew it was true. Kaede would not lie to him. She had no reason to.

"Why? How?" he whined in desperation.

"Poison. The Kouma's claw was full of an incurable poison." Kaede answered softly with her head down. She was trying very hard not to let Ohgami see her trying to suppress her giggle.

"Is she in pain?"

Kaede shook her head. "Not yet. But she has a fever and she is **burning up** **slowly** on the inside."

"How long does she have?" Ohgami whispered.

"She won't last through **tonight**."

"Let me see her then."

"No I won't let you Ohgami-san."

Kaede's cruelty made Ohgami stare in disbelief at his superior.

"There is a reason for this. The poison is **infectious** and it will kill anyone including you. The doctor and I were lucky that we were wearing protective clothing." Kaede lied as convincingly as she can. To her delight and relief, Ohgami was too overcome with grief to notice her big fat lie.

"Then that's just as well. I don't want to live without her anyway!" Ohgami blurted out impulsively, not sure what the strong feelings burning inside him meant.

Kaede covered her mouth to cover her smile.

_I got him now._

Sighing like the actress of the millennium, she agreed by nodding her head slightly. "Very well Ohgami-san. The Hanagumi will regret losing you both but I will grant you this desire, if only out of your love for Reni."

Her words stunned him momentarily. _Love? Is that what I've been feeling for Reni all this time?_

But Ohgami did not dwell on it for too long, he thanked Kaede, grabbed the key to the ward and headed there with speed.

After Ohgami was out of earshot, Kaede finally broke into a laugh. Wiping her crocodile tears and suppressing her laughter, she felt that she needed to reward herself for her 'good deed' with some good ol' romance herself. She was still recalling how to contact her spook lover as she ascended the stairs to her room.

* * *

Time felt extremely long for Reni as soon as Kaede exited the ward, her worries were driving her towards madness and she finally got sick of waiting. She would find him herself. 

Reni rose painfully from her bed, just sitting up was enough to make her pant in exhaustion. Gritting her teeth, she swung her legs slowly onto the ground and pulled herself upwards. Her side was killing her with each move she made but she was resolute in her decision to see Ohgami. Staggering on unsteady feet, she walked barefooted to the entrance of the ward, supporting herself by leaning on the wall.

It took her some time to drag herself to the doors but she found out in dismay that the doors were locked from the outside. While she rested her back on the doors trying to think of how to get out, the double doors swung open widely, making her fall through the open doors.

Reni braced herself for the pain that would come when she was caught by two strong arms.

"Reni! What are you doing out of bed?"

It was Ohgami and he swept the girl off her feet and carried her to her bed before she could say anything.

"Here, let me put you down." Ohgami said softly but Reni shook her head. Her arms clung tighter to his neck and Ohgami heard her sobbing.

"No! I won't let you go. I won't let you leave me," Reni was crying now.

It was the first time Ohgami ever saw the quiet girl cry. _Poor girl. She must be afraid of dying alone._

"Don't worry Reni. I'm here now and I won't leave you no matter what happens."

Reni clung on harder, still shaking her head. "No. They'll take you away and I will never see you again. I'll be here, alone again for the rest of my life."

"Then they'll have to try **_very_** hard because I am **_not_** leaving you Reni. Not like this. I'll **_stay_** here with you until our last breath."

Reni pulled away slightly and looked into Ohgami's dark eyes with her owns. His expression told her that he meant what he said.

"Ichiro!" Unable to control her emotions anymore, she cried in his chest, her arms held onto his neck tighter and tighter.

Ohgami only held her tighter, he could feel that Reni's skin felt warmer than normal and he was filled with grief. His only consolation was that he would die with her finally knowing his feelings for her.

When Reni finally pulled away from his chest again, he leaned forward and kissed her on the lips. Reni accepted it and she closed her eyes, allowing Ohgami's tongue to explore her mouth.

Ohgami laid Reni back onto the bed after they broke their kiss and lay next to her. For the next few moments, they kissed each other passionately and clung to each other tightly, neither wanted to be an inch further away from each other.

As Reni's hormones took over, she reached to pull off her paper gown but Ohgami grabbed her hands. The look he gave her told her everything. He didn't want to take such an advantage of her even though this was their last time together. Reni understood he cherished her and she followed his wishes.

For the next few hours, they lay side by side; their hands clasped together, their eyes on each other and their minds on the time they have left between themselves. Reni was thinking of the inevitable moment when Yoneda's goons would come in and drag her lover away. Ohgami was, however, thinking of her inevitable death and dreaded the hours of loneliness he would have to suffer before he follows her.

Finally, Reni's fever got worse and she fell into unconsciousness. Ohgami knew that her time was coming soon but he remained to take care of her, giving her water when she asked during her conscious moments and drying her sweat-coated skin as the fever worsened. He never stopped taking care of her until he finally fell asleep beside her, hugging her closely. There they both slept, their minds on each other and the brief happiness they shared.

* * *

Kaede chuckled to herself and her lover turned to look at her, puzzled. 

"What's so funny?" A naked Kayama asked.

"Oh, nothing. I was just wondering what those two would look like when they find out about my white lie."

Kayama smiled, "Then I better teach this naughty girl a lesson."

"Then spank me," Kaede growled seductively as she let her skirt slip down to her ankles. Kayama stepped forward and slapped her playfully on her behind before they headed for the bed.

To be continued...

* * *

I admit that Ohgami& Reni's sweet moments are a bit short but I will expand them in later chapters.(If I can) 

So, what do you ppl think? R&R pls!

Remember, your reviews are my greatest motivation to continue.


	7. Some Sweet Moments and Gossips

Author's Notes

I'm trying to expand on their romantic moments but with my limited imagination and my lack of knowledge in the field, I came up with this. I'm more worried about this fic than my exams muahahahaha!

Disclaimer: I do not own Sakura Taisen or any of its characters.

* * *

Reni awoke first, her eyelids fluttered open slowly and the first thing she saw was not the ceiling but the wall at the far end of her room. Then she remembered that she had been sleeping next to Ohgami the night before. The thought of Ohgami made her turn to her left.

To her surprise, it was not the empty wrinkled bedspace she had dreaded to see. Ohgami Ichiro was sleeping peacefully with his back on the back of the bed like her with his arm around her waist.

"Ichiro?" She whispered, hoping that she was not dreaming as she crept closer to his face.

Ohgami groaned and opened his eyes. The first thing he saw was the cute German's face. She was definitely the most pleasant sight to see first thing in the morning and Ohgami was still sinking into Pleasantville when memories of last night rushed into his mind. He sat up straight immediately, holding Reni's shoulders tightly and inspecting her face.

"R-Reni? You're alive?" He whispered, disbelief evident in his voice.

Reni herself was too immersed in her own happiness to notice what Ohgami had said and she lunged forward to embrace Ohgami.

"Ichiro! You are still here!" She cried with joy behind his neck, her arms clung tightly to his back. She pulled back a little while later, feasting her eyes with his image.

Ohgami blushed a bit when he saw how intent Reni looked at him. Her eyes were watery with tears of happiness and she was displaying one of her rarest smiles. Ohgami wiped her tears and stroked her cheek, all the while not believing and glad that she was still alive even though Kaede had said she would not survive. Reni only held his hand onto her cheek, enjoying his touch and wishing that he would not stop.

"I'm so glad that Kaede was wrong Reni." Ohgami said softly as he stroke her neck.

"Wrong about what?" She purred lovingly, closing her eyes to concentrate on Ohgami's touch.

"Wrong about you dying."

Reni's eyes snapped open and glanced at him in confusion. "Dying?"

"You don't know?" Ohgami's fingers stopped moving.

"No. She said that you were going to be sent to prison."

It was Ohgami's turn to stare at her puzzlingly.

"I lied." Kaede's voice intruded. The brunette stepped out from a dark corner of the room.

Reni jumped off Ohgami immediately at the sound of her voice and hid her face behind her pillow, not believing that she did not notice the vice-commander in the room the whole time. The couple on the bed stared at the brunette in embarrassment.

"K-Kaede-san!" They both exclaimed. "What do you mean?"

Kaede chuckled at their reaction before explaining her lie. She even included how they both reacted to her lie as she recalled the events of the night before, leaving the new couple blushing uncontrollably and exchanging shy smiles with each other.

Seeing that her ruse had worked and that she had achieved her goal, Kaede decided to leave the lovers alone.

"Well, I have work to do, so I'll leave you two lovebirds alone for awhile." She winked at them before heading out the double-doors; the couple blushed even deeply at her last remark.

When Kaede closed the door behind her, she stifled a giggle.

_Oooh, I'll leave you two alone. For now._

Reni glanced at Ohgami timidly over her pillow; her initial drive (and reason) to give herself totally to Ohgami was lost with the unveiling of the truth. Now her mind began to kick in and warned her of consequences.

Ohgami, however, washed those budding doubts away when he swept away her pillow and kissed her deeply as he pushed her downwards onto the hospital bed. Reni felt the familiar heat rising in her as she felt Ohgami's hands over her and his advancing tongue battling with hers.

They made out on the bed for many minutes, each of them indulging in their desires for once without having to be considerate about anything. Ohgami's kisses moved from her lips down the length of her neck and gradually moved towards her chest.

Reni moaned with pleasure and her fingers were moving to remove her gown when the most embarrassing thing occurred.

Her stomach growled.

Ohgami stopped kissing and they both stared at each other. Reni could only blush and scold herself for ruining the mood, feeling disappointed again for not being able to give herself to Ohgami again. Ohgami smiled warmly at her and kissed her lightly on the lips before he got off her.

Reni sat up, clutching her loose gown as she watched Ohgami getting off the bed. She grabbed at his hand unconsciously, not wanting him to leave. Ohgami moved back towards her and pecked her on the lips again.

"I'm going to fix you something to eat. You haven't had lunch and dinner yesterday you naughty girl."

Reni reddened more and nodded before letting his hand go a bit reluctantly.

* * *

Yuri almost bumped into Ohgami as he headed in the direction of the kitchen. He greeted her cheerfully and Yuri only glanced at his hurrying back, puzzled. Ohgami's hair was messier than usual and his clothes were wrinkled. Normally these signs say that a person is in a bad mood but Ohgami looked like he was in heaven. 

Yuri shrugged and headed into her office where Kasumi and Tsubaki were waiting for her. It was their early morning gossip hour before work starts at nine o'clock.

"Good morning Yuri, you look like you have something interesting to say today." Kasumi greeted her partner as she read her expression.

"I do actually but let me hear about what went on in the Teigeki yesterday. I heard one of the Hanagumi was hurt."

"It was Reni," Tsubaki chimed in, "but she's ok. Ohgami-san brought her back in time for the doctor to patch her up. Manager Yoneda is quite furious with the way he brought her in though."

"Yes," Kasumi chuckled, "Ohgami-san even ignored the manager's orders to come to his office. Seems like something interesting is going to develop from this."

"What? The ever-obedient Ohgami-san disobeyed an order? This is definitely unusual." Yuri replied.

"According to my sources, Ohgami-san was extremely agitated when he brought Reni back. More agitated than he would normally be." Kasumi provided.

"He looked rather happy in the hallway just now."

"Probably glad that Reni was all right I guess. Kaede-san told us a minute ago." Tsubaki answered.

"Probably. Speaking of Reni, I found her doing something strange yesterday."

"What? What?" The other two looked at her like vultures.

"She was standing in front of a mirror."

"Strange is definitely the word for it but what's so interesting about that?" Tsubaki said a bit disappointingly.

"Naked."

"What?" The two's attention returned.

"She was standing in front of the mirror naked. When would you do something like that?"

"Umm... To see if I've gone fat?" Tsubaki offered.

"I don't think so. I hate to admit it but Reni is more slender than any of us."

"Checking her sizes?" Kasumi ventured.

"Close to what I have in mind but no."

"Could she be... um... you know... shaving?" Tsubaki suggested timidly.

"She wasn't carrying a razor." Yuri shook her head.

"Could it be that she was touching herself?"

The younger members of the Kazegumi stared at Kasumi, their faces started to become crimson as the image formed in their heads.

"She is at that age you know." Kasumi only added a-matter-of-factly.

Yuri coughed and cleared her throat as she disposed the vulgar image out of her mind. "N-no, I don't think so."

"Then what is it?" The other two of the Kazegumi asked impatiently.

"I'm not sure, I was hoping you two might be able to tell me."

The two narrowed their eyes and gave the gossip queen a disapproving look.

"B-but I do have a theory. She must be wondering how she looked like to others." Yuri quickly added.

"Why would she suddenly want to know that?" Tsubaki queried.

"Unless the others you mean is actually a him."

"You mean Reni is concerned how males look at her?"

"Not just any male. Him." Yuri suggested.

"Ohgami-san?"

"Yes Tsubaki. Who else's opinion would she really look heavily on?"

"Why the sudden interest in his opinion?"

"She's in love with him."

The other two stared at Kasumi.

"How can you tell?"

"It's just a guess."

"It might be true too you know." Yuri said thoughtfully.

The three of them continued their lengthy discussion, presenting and ditching theories. They didn't notice Ohgami walking pass their open door with a tray of food in his hands.

* * *

Reni had pulled on her gown again and was waiting for Ohgami impatiently on her bed when he came in. 

"Ichiro!" She called to him, brightening up significantly.

Ohgami walked towards her and laid the tray on her lap before he sat next to her. Reni looked at what Ohgami brought for her. A bowl of porridge, some fish and a glass of milk was on the tray. They weren't anything exquisite but the fact that her Ichiro made it for her was more than enough for her.

To her surprise, when she reached for the spoon, Ohgami snatched it away from her. He scooped up some hot porridge, blew at it to cool it and told her to open her mouth. Reni obeyed and smiled shyly at him as she ate. Ohgami wouldn't let her eat herself, insisting on feeding her and she didn't mind. She was on cloud 9. No one had shown how much they had cared for her like Ohgami did now and she thanked whoever watching over her for making her dreams into a reality.

Ohgami's romantic advances did not stop there. Whenever Reni sipped her milk, she left a white moustache, which Ohgami would wipe away with a cloth before planting a surprise kiss on her mouth. He did that several times that Reni protested a bit.

"Ichiro. If you keep kissing me, how am I going to finish my food?"

Ohgami grinned apologetically and continued feeding her. He realised that he was acting like a love struck puppy but he couldn't help it. One look at Reni and his body moved with a mind of its own.

When she finally finished her food, Ohgami moved the tray onto a table and the two of them lay together again, doing nothing but enjoying each other's presence.

"Ichiro, you can't stay here forever." Reni said softly into his ear while she nibbled at it.

"You're right, but I don't want to leave you."

"And I you. But you can't ignore your responsibilities because of me." She whispered softly and continued to play with his ear.

"You're making it hard for me to leave you know." He teased.

"I know." She sighed and released his ear. "You better go. The others might wonder where you were the whole morning."

"I'll come back later ok?" He said as he got up from the bed, their fingers still locked between each other.

She nodded. "Please don't tell the others about us Ichiro. I'd like to keep this between us."

"Whatever you want Reni."

She smiled.

"Ichiro," she paused before adding hesitantly, "ich liebe dich."

Ohgami knew the three German words well enough.

"Ich liebe dich auch Reni."

They had another passionate kiss before he left. Reni slid under her blanket, happy that she finally said those three words.

"I love you," she whispered to herself before she slept, dreaming of Ohgami.

To be continued...

* * *

Hmm.... I hope this is not too cheesy. It felt ok when I was writing it. Then it felt rather strange a day later. I rewrote it a bit, felt satisfied and became unhappy the next day until I decided to post it to keep myself from staring at the same passage every day.

Pls R&R. :-)


	8. A Pervert and A Sister In The Making

Author's Message

A little diversion from Ohgami&Reni :)

Disclaimer: I do not own Sakura Taisen. If I did, ST4 would be much much longer. I wish they will remake it in the PS2 version.

* * *

Reni sat on her stool in the bathhouse under the Teigeki, sighing to herself as Iris and Orihime fussed over her, insisting that they help her wash and not soak her newly bandaged side. However, they both kept bickering over who should wash where and they ended up soaking it worse than if she just bathed by herself. The duo did not realize what fate they had condemned the wunderkind into.

An hour ago, Kaede had just changed her bandage and she didn't look forward to another session with the vice-commander. The brunette had teased Reni every second she was with her, causing the silver-haired teen to keep blushing uncontrollably and pleading uselessly for Kaede to stop. Kaede had threatened many times to announce their relationship, leaving the helpless German almost in tears begging her not to torment her anymore. If Reni had ever respected the vice-commander, that respect had now vaporized. Now Reni could only visualize Kaede as a sadomasochistic tyrant with flashing lightning bolts and poisonous green gas looming behind her back. She could already imagine the whips cracking on her back with Kaede laughing like Sumire or some S&M queen. Reni shivered a bit when she thought of the oncoming verbal torture Kaede was going to inflict on her when she visits her for another bandage dressing.

Reni was brought back to reality when the slightly tanned Italian's face blocked her entire view.

"Re-e-ni-i-chan," the Italian sang mischievously. Orihime had never called Reni like that and she could only give the black-haired pianist a blank look.

Orihime grinned evilly, her two rows of perfect white teeth shining in the light. "It's time to wash the front part now."

"Eh? I can do it my-"

"Don't say that Reni. Let's see how much you've grown."

"O-Orihime? S-stop! Ahhhhhh!"

Reni fell backwards as her stool toppled at Orihime's advance and the Italian pinned the German under her. Orihime had a strange maniacal look on her and the sixteen-year-old suddenly felt fearful.

"You definitely look more womanly now, Reni." Orihime whistled as she inspected the naked German with her fingers.

"I-Iris! Help me!" Reni twisted her head to look for the blond French but found the young girl unconscious nearby.

"Nobody can help you now my pretty." Orihime mimicked some villain in some cartoon she was so keen on watching.

Reni could have easily thrown the Italian off her but she couldn't do it to her close friend and lay helplessly as the pianist groped and fondled her.

The sound of a bucket hitting the ground made Orihime stop and screech in horror at the person at the exit.

Standing at the doorway was a stunned Yuri with her hand to her mouth. She was still puzzling over Reni's actions the day before as the Kazegumi could not reach a definite conclusion before work started. Now she was faced with another strange event involving the naked German.

The image in front of her was a classic **rape** scene. Reni pinned down below looking **tearful** and **afraid** (Yuri's modified view of the scene) and Orihime with a **hungry** (that is how Yuri saw it) expression and **clutching** one of Reni's breasts.

Orihime was even more shocked at seeing Yuri. Of all the people in the Teigeki, it had to be Yuri seeing her weird behavior. Orihime could see all the obscene and twisted headlines Yuri was going to make up in the next few seconds. Worst of all, everyone would soon mistake her for a pervert.

"W-wait Yuri. It's not what you think!" Orihime scrambled up hastily and moved towards Yuri.

In Yuri's eye view combined with her overactive imagination, the scene was different. She saw Orihime getting up slowly and **smiling** at her. Orihime spoke, "**Yuri**! It's **exactly** what you think. Now I'll just have to add **you** into my list."

"Noooooo! Get away from me you pervert!" Yuri screamed as she ran out of the bathhouse, images of Orihime chasing her with lustful eyes haunting her all the way.

"Wait! Yuri! Stop! I was just playing with Reni!" The Italian grabbed a towel and pursued the gossip queen in hopes that she would be able to shut her up in time.

Reni lay on the cold tiled floor, stunned and relieved at the same time. The wet floor had completely soaked her bandage and she felt the stinging pain at her side as soap mixed with water started to lick at her wound. She winced at the sting at her side but she got up nevertheless and covered herself with her wet towel. She moved to the unconscious Iris and silently scolded Orihime for using 'the pinch' she had taught her on Iris.

After drying and dressing herself and Iris, Reni carried the blonde back to her room. The trip there was uneventful but when she exited exhaustedly from the French's room, she bumped into Maria and almost fell backwards. Maria caught her quickly and helped the weak teen balance herself.

"Reni, what are you doing up here? You should be resting." Maria said sternly.

After hearing Reni's simple but slightly amusing explanation of Orihime pinching Iris' nerve and making her unconcious, Maria's features softened.

"Very well. I'll have a talk with Orihime about this 'excessive use of force' later on, now let me take you to the ward." Reni only nodded and followed the tall Russian.

They did not talk throughout the way, making Reni feeling a bit uneasy. Usually Maria's silence made her most at ease but ever since she thought that Maria had a relationship with Ohgami, Reni couldn't help but feel a bit guilty for 'stealing' Ohgami from her.

Maria, however, was unaware of the teen's thoughts and she just intended to get Reni back to the ward. Reni had always felt like a younger sister, no, a reflected image of her younger self, so it was natural for her to show some compassion for the still-naïve German.

They still didn't say anything when Maria tucked Reni in, an uncharacteristic move but Reni did not notice. She was still wondering whether she should ask Maria if she had anything with Ohgami and apologize if she did. She really didn't want to offend her senior for going out with Ohgami behind her back. She sucked in a breath and readied herself.

"Maria?"

"Hmm?"

"Do you... um... Taicho... Is Taicho in trouble?" Reni reprimanded herself mentally for lacking the courage to ask that simple question.

Maria smiled. "Nothing serious. Manager Yoneda is still yelling at him. I guess Taicho will have heavier chores to do around here starting from today."

"Oh..." Reni silently apologized to Ohgami.

"I'd better go now. I'll call Kaede-san to change your bandage."

At the mention of Kaede, Reni noticeably paled, worrying Maria.

"Reni, are you ok? You suddenly look so pale."

"N-nothing." Reni stammered as images of Kaede whipping her with her whip-like tongue filled her head.

Maria shrugged and was starting to move away when Reni caught her arm.

"M-Maria? Can you change the bandage for me?"

"What? Why?"

"I don't want to um... disturb Kaede-san. She said she had lots of reports to do."

Maria frowned at the lie. She had just been playing billiards with Kaede and she looked like she had nothing to do for the whole day. Nevertheless, Maria ignored it, guessing Reni probably had some unknown issues with the vice-commander. The vice-commander **did** look a bit mentally unstable, constantly giggling and talking to herself while they played.

Reni obviously relaxed when Maria nodded, causing the blonde to look questioningly at the silver-haired girl.

After Reni removed her shirt, Maria looked disapprovingly at the wet bandage. She removed the bandage expertly but Reni still winced a bit as the bandage was pulled off. Maria dried the area around the wound, applied some medication onto the large gash and bandaged Reni's side again. Maria paused a bit when she pinned the bandage and she started to press Reni's firm abdomen, causing the wunderkind to stiffen at her touch.

"Reni, you sure are thin." Maria remarked as she observed her body.

Maria's unexpected comment made her flush in embarrassment. She started to feel a bit ashamed of her body.

"R-really? Is that bad?" She said, a trace of self-pity in her voice.

"No, no. Any girl would dream to be as slender as you."

That came as a surprise for Reni. She was the one who kept envying the figures that the older members of the Hanagumi had and she didn't expect anyone to compliment any part of her physical appearance.

"Truly? I always thought Maria have the best figure around here."

"You think so? I think I'm gaining weight. Don't you think my face is getting wider?" The Russian patted her cheeks.

Reni smiled. "Actually you look much more attractive that way."

"You're not just saying that?"

Reni shook her head emphatically. "It's the truth!"

"Thanks Reni." Maria then glanced at the teen's exposed breasts. "You know? You should start wearing a bra."

"A bra?"

"Yeah. It will make your breasts look much nicer."

Reni's cheek became scarlet at that comment. She was still unused to this kind of talk.

"Will I ever become as attractive as you?"

"You don't have to become like me Reni. You're attractive in your own way. Besides, you're still growing. Who knows? You might even outgrow Kanna." The Russian made a rare joke.

This made the girl redden even more. "I-I think those would be too heavy for me to hold on to." She held out her hands and held two imaginary breasts in front of her chest. It looked like she was trying to hold a watermelon in each hand.

This made Maria burst out laughing, stunning and pleasing the German for accomplishing this feat.

It took her a few moments to contain her uncharacteristic outburst but she managed to reduce the laugh into a wide smile, another unusual expression.

"Oh God, Reni, you can really be quite funny."

"T-thank you."

"But seriously, you should start taking note of your body. I'm sure you'll look good with some help."

After some internal tug-of-war considering Maria's advice, Reni whispered timidly. "C-can you teach me?"

Maria smiled warmly. "Sure Reni."

The blonde sat next to the inquisitive girl and they spent the whole afternoon talking about lingerie, make-up, clothes and various girl stuff. Reni absorbed everything word for word and Maria rather enjoyed talking to the quiet and attentive wunderkind who would always ask a few strange questions, forcing the normally serious Russian to grin uncontrollably if she was not laughing. To a bystander, they truly looked like sisters if one ignored their different hair color.

* * *

Meanwhile, in the attic way above the two normally silent members of the Hanagumi, Orihime backed Yuri into a corner and the Japanese looked frantically for a way to escape the 'pervert'. 

In Yuri's eyes, Orihime looked like a sex-hungry maniac drooling all over her face and preparing to pounce at her. In reality, Orihime was almost dying from exhaustion; sweat was dripping down all over her face. Running around the Teigeki was no small feat and to the Italian who lacked stamina, it was like a nightmare marathon.

"Get away from me you Italian **rapist**!" Yuri was screaming hysterically.

"How many times to I have to tell you! I was just **playing** with Reni!" The frustrated Italian screamed back.

"You don't have to keep reminding me! You **played with her body** and now you want **mine**!"

"Aiiiiieeee!!! What's wrong with you! Why do you keep twisting my words?"

"It's the truth and you know it! You're just a **wolf** under that **Mediterranean sheep skin **of yours!"

"I'm not! I'm not! I'm not!"

"You are! You are! You are!"

The two of them exchange screams like that for hours, driving everyone within earshot mad until Kasumi came up and dragged them both out of the attic, taping their mouths with a roll of sticky tape each.

To be continued...

* * *

**Sumire/Kanna/Sakura/Kohran:** Author-saaaaan 

**Me**: Ya?

**SKSK**: Why aren't we appearing yet?

**Me**: Eh?

**SKSK**: Don't tell us that you've forgotten **US???**

**Me**: Don't worry. You'll appear in another chapter I guess.

**SKSK**: How long would that be?

**Me**: An eternity or so I reckon.

**SKSK**: Sanity-san **BAKA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!**

Next would be some sisterly bonding between Maria and Reni. Ohgami's dreadful ordeal with Yoneda should be revealed in the following chapter also.

R&R please. Omegai!

****


	9. Shopping

Author's Message

Thanks to all who have read this far and I appreciate your reviews. I don't think this is my best chapter but I've done everything I can and I feel exhausted. I'm going to ask an important question at the end of this chapter and I hope that those of you who have read this chapter would help me out. Thanks.

Disclaimer: I do not own Sakura Taisen and any of their characters and never will. Boo hoo hoo!

* * *

The cheery noon sun shone on a lone, lean figure sitting on a bench in the courtyard of the Teigeki. Reni let out a breath of relaxation as the sun warmed her skin, making her a bit sleepy.

A week had passed since she was injured and now she was glad that she didn't have to return to that awful ward. The brief moments with Ohgami in that ward were definitely pleasant but she could not stand the emptiness of that room and the nightmare sessions with Kaede. Even though it had been a week since Ohgami visited her in the ward, Kaede never seemed to be able to stop making fun of her.

Remembering Ohgami, Reni could not relax anymore. She was bored for the first time in her life. Extremely bored were the words for her condition.

Sakura's mother had fallen ill so the Japanese girl had to rush home to take care of her even though she herself hadn't fully recovered from Kohran's faulty medicine.

Iris was busy with the tons of homework Kaede had set out for her so the French had no time to cling around Reni.

Orihime had shut herself in her room, refusing to come out ever since Yuri plastered highly exaggerated articles about Orhime's 'attempted rape of Yuri' all around the opera house. To Reni's relief, Yuri had left the part involving her and the Italian out in order to 'protect the victim'.

Kohran had moved to the Hanayashiki branch temporarily to oversee some top secret project, taking a kicking and yelping Hund away with her so she could treat his cold, causing Reni to feel not just a bit uneasy about it.

Kanna and Sumire had shown a rare civility towards each other and they've decided to go shopping together. Reni made the calculations already. The fact that they had started to argue politely about where they should go first at the entrance meant they it would be more than likely that they would come home not talking at all.

Unable to bear the quietness in the courtyard anymore, Reni got up and headed inside. When she turned the corner near the kitchen area, Ohgami bumped straight into her, dropping all the books and papers he was carrying.

"Taicho! I'm so sorry!" Reni apologised immediately as she quickly helped him retrieve the items. When no reply came from Ohgami, the teen peeked at his face and was shocked at what she saw.

Ohgami looked like a panda with two black circles around his eyes and his face looked paler than her skin. Noticing her gaze, Ohgami snapped out of his momentary spirit-out-of-body state and shook his head.

"Huh? Oh, sorry Maria. I have to go. Manager Yoneda wants me to get him his stuff. Are you shorter today?" The man mumbled as he walked robotically to Yoneda's office, not realising that he wasn't carrying anything anymore.

"W-wait! Taicho! You forgot the books!" Reni called to him as she struggled to carry the heavy pile of books and papers to him.

"Huh? Oh hello Iris. You want me to hold Jean-Paul?" The Japanese man mumbled senselessly to her.

Without waiting for her reply, he grabbed the pile of stuff on Reni's arms.

"Jean-Paul feels heavy today." Ohgami murmured and he forgot all about Reni and headed towards the manager's office again.

Reni was crestfallen. Even Ohgami didn't have time for her. He didn't even notice her too!

"Poor Ohgami-san. Manager Yoneda had him working 24 hours doing senseless chores for the whole week now."

Reni froze upon hearing that voice.

"Maybe you should pay him a visit tonight. No wait! You do that **every **night. Maybe you should actually go **in** his room tonight."

"K-Kaede-san. Please not here." Reni begged. They were so close to Gossip Central and she was extremely fearful that Yuri might pop out anytime soon. Having the news of her love affair with Ohgami posted on every wall in the Teigeki would stir up incidents that she was not emotionally ready yet to face.

"Don't worry Reni. Your secret is safe with me. I've checked. Yuri and the others are suspicious but they don't have any definite proof." The vice-commander assured her.

"Proof about what?"

Reni almost had a heart attack when Yuri's voice suddenly came from behind her.

The evil brunette took in Reni's expression gleefully.

"Oh nothing. Just that Reni here is..." Kaede trailed off enjoying seeing the tormented teen's face starting to drain in colour.

"Is?" Yuri was drooling now.

Reni shook her head slightly, mouthing the words "please don't" to Kaede.

"She's in..."

Reni closed her eyes and waited for the inevitable. _Kaede-san... I hate you!_

"In?" Yuri's eyes widened.

"In luck!"

Reni almost fainted while Yuri pounced onto Kaede.

"What did she win?" Yuri asked eagerly.

"A free dress of her choosing!" Kaede announced cheerfully as she pulled out a coupon. "I used her name to enter a lottery and I got this free dress coupon for 'Women's Paradise'. Here Reni, take it!"

Reni took the coupon hesitantly; she was still trying to recover from Kaede's mean joke.

"Ehhh, Reni. You're **soooooooo** lucky. The dresses there cost **a lot **and they have the **cutest** dresses and gowns in the whole of Japan. Sumire-san doesn't even go there often!" Yuri congratulated Reni as she patted her on the back.

"T-thank you." Reni replied solemnly as she walked unsteadily away towards the main stairs, leaving Kaede and Yuri watching the back of her slumped shoulders.

"She looked rather down. Did I say something wrong?" Yuri wondered out loud. Kaede only shrugged at her before she left the area too, a knowing grin across her lips.

* * *

Reni laid her chin on her arms as she rested on the banisters of the balcony above the main entrance. Kaede's horrendous sense of humour had drained her spirit and the loneliness she felt was getting oppressing every second. She wanted Ohgami to hold her like he did that day but she knew it was impossible now. As long as Manager Yoneda's temper remained, Ohgami had no hope of coming to her side. 

"Hi Reni."

Reni glanced sideways without moving her head to the source of the soft familiar voice.

Maria was next to her, her back and elbows were at the railing. Reni noticed that the blonde was wearing a cyan full-length gown, which reflected the noon sun, revealing its material as high-quality silk. Her ever-present gold locket was around her neck and she wore a pair of white elbow-length gloves. The Russian even adorned herself with some exquisite jewellery. An expensive-looking bracelet hung on her left wrist and diamond-studded earrings hung from her ears. Reni couldn't help but admire how great the vice-captain looked and she was sure that in a darker room, she would have looked even spectacular.

Maria noticed the silver-haired girl's curious look and she chuckled.

"I was invited to have breakfast with Count Hanakoji and his friends this morning. To tell you the truth, it's more like a grand ball than just a simple breakfast. I must look strange in this, don't you think?"

Reni shook her head slowly and returned her gaze to the streets below, her chin never leaving her arms.

The teen's silence wasn't unusual to Maria but she could feel that her young teammate was down about something

Maria raised an eyebrow and began to think of what to say when she recognised the crumpled voucher Reni had in her hands.

"Hey Reni, why don't you and I go shopping?"

Her blue eyes moved away from the streets and settled on Maria.

"Come on! It's about time we went somewhere and buy some of the stuff I told you about a while ago." Maria encouraged the teen as she pulled her away reluctantly from the balcony.

It didn't take Maria long to switch back to her ordinary clothes and pull the unresisting wunderkind into a steam cab and set off to the shopping district.

* * *

Reni sat on a high stool with her legs dangling at the side as she guarded a stack of parcels belonging to Maria outside the dressing room. The curtain in front of her slid back and Maria stepped out, wearing a sleeveless white top and a red thigh-length skirt, she turned a full circle to let Reni admire it. 

However, Reni was more interested in Maria's expression. Many times during the day she had witnessed the normally stern and controlled Russian display an unusual innocence that the German had never seen before. It was like that the blonde had transformed into another person. A person who was free of any responsibilities and care.

When Maria finally stopped admiring herself in the mirror; she caught the sixteen-year-old's stare.

"What?" she asked Reni.

"You feel... different."

"I know. This skirt is absolutely fabulous!" Maria squealed like a little girl as she whirled around some more, making the hem of her skirt float after her.

Reni shook her head. "No. I mean your personality."

Maria caught herself and turned towards Reni, embarrassed. "Oh. You mean me."

Maria grabbed another tall stool and sat next to Reni who was still waiting for her answer. She took a moment to gather her thoughts.

"Reni. How do you view the clothes you wear?"

The silver-haired German looked puzzled. "We cover ourselves with clothes since it is unacceptable to be naked in public."

It was the Russian's turn to shake her head. "No Reni. Clothes are not just that. They are...how should I put it? Wonderful things."

"Wonderful... things? How?"

"By the way they make you feel! Different clothes can give you different feelings. I'm sure you've felt them before. During a battle, your uniform gives you strength and a sense of unity. After a battle, when you change back to your everyday clothing, you feel like you are coming home to the rest of your friends and families. On stage, your costume defines your character and you feel like you belong in the play and bring the scenes out of the pages."

"I... see." Reni closed her eyes as she remembered the unexplained emotions she had had in those situations.

"It's the same with trying new clothes. Each and every piece of clothing has its own tale and personality. By combining the different ones together, you always feel something different. The possibilities are limitless and so are the emotions that clothing may evoke in you. When you think about the person you love and wonder if he would like your choice, the apprehension of just wondering is just too exhilarating to describe."

"Can I... Can I feel them too?"

"Of course you can Reni. All you have to do is try it yourself." Maria said sincerely. "Then again I've been hogging the dressing rooms all day." She added a bit sheepishly.

Reni gave her a small smile and pulled the crumpled voucher from her pocket. Maria understood immediately and after gathering her parcels, they headed for 'Women's Paradise'.

* * *

At first the store attendant had mistaken Reni for a boy and had barred her entry, only to receive a steely glance and a few harsh words from Maria. Slightly embarrassed, Reni entered the shop, all the while hiding behind Maria as the shop felt more like a ballroom with its wooden dancing floors and high domed ceiling associated with crystal-like chandeliers dangling. The soft music played by a piano somewhere in the sea of designer dresses and gowns only reinforced the feeling. 

They spent an hour or so in the shop with sales assistants and Maria trying to pick out something that would look good on Reni. Most of the styles clashed with Reni because of her rather boyish looks and Maria, herself, was also quite choosy in the matter, screening off many of the sales assistants' recommendations. As Maria and the assistants argued, Reni wandered off by herself to quieter sections and browsed by herself. One dress caught her eye.

It was a rather nondescript evening gown with few of the radical revealing styles and fashions that the assistants picked out. Quietly, she pulled it out of its hanger and slipped into a dressing room.

When she came out, she headed towards a full-length mirror outside the small cubicle to look at herself in more detail, her heart beating in slight anticipation all the way. When she saw her reflection, something akin to excitement and satisfaction filled her chest. She imitated Maria and spun once in front of the mirror, admiring herself for the first time in her life. She didn't know how to describe it but the dress definitely clicked with something inside her. Looking at herself in different poses, she reddened when she recalled Maria's words, realising that she had been wondering if Ohgami would like the dress she was wearing now.

"There you are! We've been looking all over... Oh!" Maria exclaimed when she noticed Reni's dress. The assistants following her all 'oohed' and 'aahhed' at the teen's new outfit.

The women looked approvingly at Reni's choice albeit a simple one. The gown was of an azure blue colour, which brought out her eyes easily and the colour made her bright silvery hair looked shinier and more beautiful. Maria and some of the assistants circled the abashed teen who was embarrassed by all the attention, and they noted that the gown was form-fitting and the back of the gown was cut low, ending right above her waist, both features displaying her slender figure for all to see. The gown was tied at her neck, covering most of her front but revealing her shoulders and emphasizing more on her face, which was good as her face was her most attractive feature. The gown was obviously meant for someone taller as Reni was dragging a few inches of the shiny, silk gown on the floor.

"So, do you like it?" Maria asked even though she knew the answer already.

Reni beamed at her and nodded enthusiastically.

A few minutes later, they left with the gown resized and packed into a small blue parcel on Reni's arms, under Maria's other parcels.

"Maria..." Reni nudged Maria with her elbow.

"Hmm?"

"Can we continue this?"

"If you're not tired."

She shook her head and to Maria's surprise, the girl strode off with wide, excited steps to the next store.

A couple of hours later, the exhausted but contented duo rested their feet and arms on a bench under a small tree with two piles of parcels and bags near their legs. The larger pile belonged to Maria while the comparatively smaller one was Reni's. They had visited every store in the district, from make-up stores, women's wears to hair salons and lingerie shops and now they were each licking an ice-cream cone Maria had bought. Reni found the sweet snack rather tasty and had considered seconds but Maria warned her that eating too much would make her fat, causing the girl to drop the notion immediately.

"Maria?" Reni addressed her senior softly, breaking the brief silence between them.

"Hmm?"

"Thank you for teaching me so many things today. I never knew that shopping could be so... fun."

"I had fun too today."

"Really?"

"Yeah. It's rather nice to go shopping with someone quiet for a change."

Reni beamed in delight at that remark and they fell silent once more, lacking anything to say to each other.

After a while, as the feeling of content subsided, idle thoughts began to stir in Reni's mind and she subconsciously glanced in Maria's direction. Seeing Maria on the bench with the evening sun on her reminded her of the week before and brought back the doubts in her. She had seen Maria on a similar bench with Ohgami and with all the hell Yoneda was giving the young captain; Reni had no chance to ask him about his relationship with Maria.

She started to wonder again about Maria's feelings for Ohgami. She was sure that the blonde adored Ohgami even if she didn't show it much. That possibility left Reni in an uncertain position. She loved Ohgami with all her heart but Maria had been one of the few people who showed true affection to her and she liked the strict but caring blonde a lot. It was one of the reasons that had made her decide to forsake her own feelings and back out a week ago. If Kaede hadn't pulled her prank, she would have remained silent forever and now she felt like she had betrayed Maria's kindness to her. Now the memories of how happy she had felt shamed her. That happiness wasn't meant for her. It should have belonged to Maria. She knew that if she never showed her feelings, Ohgami would definitely have chosen Maria over her.

She was so engaged in her thoughts that she didn't realise that Maria had scooped closer and was asking her something with a concerned look on her face.

"Huh? Sorry Maria. What did you say?"

"I was asking you if something was wrong. You seem to be drifting off quite a lot these days."

"I-It's nothing. "She lied.

"There's definitely something bothering you. Tell me. You'd feel better."

Reni was at a loss now. The familiar voices in her head began to swirl and twirl around her head.

_Should I tell her? Should I tell her that I've stolen Ohgami? Would she hate me? Would she think that I'm a traitor? _

Maria could see the internal conflict in Reni. Her blue eyes avoided hers and she was clutching the fabric of her trousers, wrinkling the usually smooth fabric. Understanding the girl's torment, Maria pulled the teen close to her and embraced her tightly.

"It's all right Reni. You don't have to say anything right now. Whatever's bothering you must be hard on you but when you finally feel like it, I'll be here to help you. Always." Maria whispered softly into Reni's ear.

Maria's words touched Reni deeply but it saddened her too. Not knowing what to do, her arms instinctively pulled Maria closer and held on to her. Maria rubbed the back of her head soothingly, unaware of the turmoil Reni felt in her.

They sat like that, each in the other's embrace until the golden rays of the setting sun slowly faded in the horizon.

* * *

Love it? Hate it? Pls tell me. ;-)

Ok, the all big important question. Do any of you ppl want:

A. Maria, Reni, Ohgami triangle (only vague ideas to do it)

B. Just Reni and Ohgami with none of the Mumbo Jumbo. (again only vague ideas at the moment)

C. Choose either A or B and add some Kanna/Sumire love humour stuff. (have some stupid ideas on this matter)

D. Other characters to have an affair with Ohgami. If so who?

E. Suggest an idea you want to read about.

F. Rewrite some of your chapters Sanity! (It will break my heart but I will see what I can do muahahaha)

All the above options can be mixed and matched together. Doesn't have to be a fixed choice.

I will be waiting for suggestions in the review section or you can just e-mail me.It's at the bottom of my profile. Thank you!


	10. A Turn of Events

**Author's Note**

Hi, sorry for the slooooow update and thanks to all of you who has taken the time to review my fic. I have freaking tests to do but I'm glad it's almost over. One more week and I can kiss Senior College goodbye! If anyone is wondering which path I'm going to take for this story, I think it's pretty obvious after you read this chapter and I hope you ppl out there won't tie me to a pole and start stoning me.

About Reni and Maria's huggy wuggy.... I think I've watched too much TV and personally I do feel it's a bit mushy. But hugging each other doesn't seem to be a big deal in Western civilization.

Reni, in my stories, will always be straight.

An Iris and Reni friendship? I will try to do it some time.

Disclaimer: I do not own anyone in the Sakura Taisen universe. (Honestly, I'm tired of typing this sentence.)

* * *

A dark ominous aura in stark contrast to the brightly illuminated background loomed over the main staircase of the Teigeki. The aura was like an enormous energy field of repulsion. Anyone without the same negative state of mind like the emitter of this aura would unconsciously avoid the main staircase or the main entrance, their primal instincts advising them to take another route or face something terrible.

A pair of narrowed, pale violet eyes stared straight down the many steps of the wide, carpeted staircase, waiting. The air around the balled-up figure in her yellow dress crackled and scintillated as it was being sporadically charged up by the immense spiritual energy pent up by the girl, the bear she squashed between her body and her arms stared idly ahead with its black pearly eyes, its slightly standing fur the only indication that it felt the energy.

However, the spectacular display of energy vanished immediately as two people stepped into her view. The one on the right was a tall woman carrying an even taller stack of parcels that completely covered her face. The one of on the left was shorter and her silver hair was the only thing visible above the small stack of parcels she carried.

"Reeeeeeniiiiii!" Iris leapt up in joy and bounced down the short flight of stairs towards the duo.

Reni and Maria peeked out from the sides of their respective stack of parcels at the source of the voice and both of their eyes went wide in horror when Iris stepped on the hem of her long dress and catapulted down the stairs and towards them.

"Aieeeee!" Iris shrieked as she flew headfirst towards the stunned duo, bowling them over, causing a shower of parcels and bags to cascade on them

Maria sat up first with a slightly disoriented Iris on her lap. A rather heavy parcel landed on her head just as she sat up, infuriating the already annoyed blonde.

"Iris! How many times do you have to do this to get that running down stairs is dangerous!" Maria almost hollered at the girl's face.

"Muu... But Iris just feels happy to see Reni. That's all..." Iris protested.

"It doesn't matter! You could have hurt someone else besides yourself!"

"Nobody got hurt..." Iris whispered defiantly.

"Iris! You'd better apologize to Reni and me! Do you understand?" Maria's temper was mounting.

"Iris wasn't wrong!" The unruly little girl shot back.

"Iris!" Maria was practically shouting now. She never had any patience for people who do not admit their mistakes.

Reni sat up groggily next to the two quarreling blondes and caught Maria's arm just as she raised it. Reni look straight into Maria's green eyes and shook her head slightly.

"It's all right Maria. We're not hurt after all." Reni said firmly, silently urging the furious woman to calm down.

Maria's agitated breathing slowed after a minute or two and finally she said, "Very well. I'll let you go _this_ time Iris but if this happens again, I'm going to have to confine you to your room. Understood?"

Iris only sulked and remained silent, her defiant posture unwavering.

"I have to go see Manager Yoneda. Would you mind helping me bring all my stuff to my room please?" Maria turned to Reni, ignoring the French girl.

Reni nodded and Maria rewarded her with an approving smile. She turned towards the direction of the office, her pace suggesting that she was still more than a little bit displeased with this incident.

"Reni. Let's leave her stuff and go to my room." Iris hooked Reni's arm in hers and started to pull the teen.

To Iris' surprise, Reni resisted her pull and unhooked her arm from the girl's before she started to pick up the scattered parcels.

"Reni?" Iris ventured, a little hurt that her friend had pulled away from her.

"Leaving all this stuff at the bottom of the stairs is dangerous." Reni replied monotonously.

Iris watched in impatience as the German began picking up and stacking all the parcels in a pile. She slung all the plastic bags onto her elbows and laboured to balance the parcels in her arms. The height of the parcels altogether reached four feet in height and Reni had to move extremely slow and careful while mounting the steps. It was fortunate that her sense of balance was much superior than a normal person but her progress was slow nevertheless.

Iris, whose patience had finally dried up, used her powers to lift the parcels off Reni's arms and directed them up the stairs.

"Where do I put them?" Iris asked, feeling slightly better when all her bottled up energy finally had a chance to come out.

"In my room. I'll sort them out later." A rather relieved Reni answered back.

Reni opened the door to her room and let Iris direct the floating objects into the opening and settle them onto her floor. Reni was about to enter her room when Iris blocked her way.

"Neh! Neh! Reni. Why don't you come to my room and play with me?" The girl asked eagerly.

"Iris... I need to-"

"Reeeeni. Come on!" Iris half pleaded and half insisted as she pulled on Reni's arm.

Reni let out an inward sigh and allowed the girl to drag her out to her room. She was sure that they would probably spend the whole night playing Hanafuda or some other card game. She was also sure that it would not take long for Iris to use her powers to gain the upper hand and best the already poor player who was herself.

* * *

Maria exited Yoneda's office where she left the Manager, drunk and still drinking. She opted to look for Ohgami and ask him to do the night patrol when she noticed that light was pouring out of Kasumi and Yuri's office.

Out of curiosity, Maria popped her head into the doorway and was surprised to see Ohgami still laboring on one of the desks.

"Taicho? Why are you still working here?" Maria inquired.

"Not now Kanna. I have to finish redoing all the paperwork since 1921 by tomorrow morning." Ohgami muttered.

"K-Kanna? Taicho! You're delusional! Have you had something to eat?"

"Sure. Take a seat."

"Taicho!"

Ohgami continued to say some gibberish under his breath. Maria could have sworn that he was chanting the words "work, work, work" over and over.

"Taicho!" Maria yelled at him again, grabbing both his shoulders and trying to shake him out of his hallucinating state.

Ohgami's head bobbed forward and backwards like it was attached to a spring but he did not snap out of it. Instead, he was grinning and cackling eerily like he was enjoying it. Maria released him and took a step back in shock.

"T-Taicho! Are you all right?" She stammered worriedly.

The slightly insane captain only smiled at her question. His bloodshot eyes and pale countenance with the two black circles under his eyes made him resemble some clown from hell. He tee-heed, "Why am I not all right Maria? I'm fine. I'm fine. How are you?"

"Tai-"

"Oops. No time for yapping and more time for pushing!" With a slight giggle, Ohgami started writing and pushing the balls on his abacus, mumbling figures and adding them up wrongly.

Maria couldn't bear to leave him in this condition and resolved to pull him away from his work. She would apologize to Yoneda for violating his orders when Ohgami's in better shape. Frankly, Maria believed that Ohgami deserved to be punished for his recklessness in the past week but this was just too much for her to bear. Ohgami had literally gone bonkers.

"Taicho, come with me. You need sleep." She said firmly to the captain, pulling his arm slightly.

"Huh? Sleep? No time! No time!" Ohgami waved his arm, trying to loosen her grip but Maria remained firm.

It took some time and effort but Maria managed to pull the squirming Ohgami out of his chair and up the stairs behind Yoneda's office. Ohgami wasn't offering much resistance and acted very much like a drunk with his incoherent mumbling and sudden burst of giggles. Maria figured that Ohgami's "follow an order to the letter" personality finally couldn't cope with the stress and with the added exhaustion from lack of sleep and food, something in his mind must have snapped.

No one had bothered to switch on the lights on the second floor and this annoyed Maria terribly because it was a chore to try and not bump into walls while steadying the captain in her arms. It was a huge relief for the vice-captain when the stumbling duo finally arrived at Ohgami's door. Maria struggled to turn the knob but Ohgami suddenly leaned close to her face, a centimeter of air was what separated their noses.

Maria flushed. Her inner self was embarrassed by the close proximity while her other half chastised her for even feeling that embarrassment. He was just delirious from hunger and sleep deprivation after all. Why make a big deal out of this?

While she was still debating internally, she didn't realize that Ohgami had ceased leaning onto her. Her attention was brought back when he held her chin with one hand and his other hand snaked behind her and rested above her hip.

Maria blinked in astonishment and before she could protest, he had jammed his lips onto hers, startling the blonde. Initially, Maria tried to fight him off but the weak man had suddenly gained immeasurable strength. Or maybe it was that she wasn't really trying at all.

Ohgami's advance was fast and demanding, causing the blonde to falter in her defenses. It wasn't as if she wanted to hold the walls anyway and she slowly melted under his assault, allowing Ohgami free access to her mouth. Her arms reached behind his neck and pulled Ohgami closer, her tongue beginning its own offensive.

Their lips broke off briefly only to inhale the oxygen they both needed before they meet again, providing a small conduit for the intense sparring contest happening in between. Maria felt herself heating up considerably and any semblance of the rock solid self-control that remained in her sublimed as if it were dry ice. The small voice in her head told her to let him take her.

Finally, they called for an unspoken truce and their lips parted to allow the breathless couple inhale mouthfuls of precious air. Maria struggled to say something to Ohgami. To say that she had always felt attracted to him or something resembling that but before she could open her mouth, she found Ohgami leaning heavily on her again.

At first, the blonde thought that Ohgami was advancing onto her again but when he exhibited no movement at all, she pulled him away slightly to discover with a teeny-weeny disappointment and a huge amount of relief to find the captain asleep in her arms.

With a slight chuckle, Maria dragged the snoring captain back into his room and tucked him neatly to his bed before she headed downstairs to do the night patrol.

* * *

Unknown to Maria, three pairs of eyes had seen everything.

Kanna and Sumire had been crouching in the shadows in the dark salon all this time and both of them looked questioningly and excitedly to each other. They headed quickly back to Sumire's room after Maria left, debating enthusiastically under their breaths whether they should tell the others or keep it to themselves and see what happened next.

The other pair of eyes belonged to Kayama who had been hanging on the ceiling just above the kissing pair. Kayama smiled behind his mask as he noted the recent turn of events. He scurried off like a beetle on a ceiling, his mind pondering where all of these current affairs would lead to and how he could play a hand in it. He, unlike Kaede, always loved to spice things up a bit. If Kaede wanted Reni and Ohgami together, maybe he would make things more interesting by pairing up Ohgami and Maria.

* * *

Aside from the aforementioned trio, a pair of sparkling blue eyes witnessed the event in the dark corridor leading to the Hanagumi's room. Reni held both her hands tightly against her nose and mouth to prevent her from making any involuntary outbursts as she felt the familiar painful emotions boiling inside of her.

She slipped silently back into her dark room and locked the door just as Kanna and Sumire slipped past outside. Reni tried to make sense of what she had seen and in her distracted state, she tripped over a shopping bag that Iris had left on the floor and landed heavily on her stomach.

The teen didn't bother to pick herself up. Instead, she buried her head in her arms and slowly let the tears drop off her eyes. She couldn't help but feel like a torn, used and discarded tissue.

Reni punched her fist onto the wooden floor, not minding if anyone heard it. She saw the horrible scene replaying over and over again in her head like some cheap movie flick, jeering and taunting her.

Anger flared inside of her as she thought of Maria and Ohgami's betrayal and she sent another fist onto the floor. This time she did it wrong and her fist bent when it made contact with the hard wood, accidentally spraining her wrist.

"Damn it!" Reni groaned under her breath as she pulled her sprained wrist towards her, rubbing it absently as she felt the throbbing pain from the injured wrist.

"Damn it..."

Reni didn't understand any of it. Ohgami had **told** her that he loved her. Why had he kissed Maria when he loved her? She thought she had it all figured out. She thought that when a man loved a woman, he wouldn't be kissing other women.

Why had this happened?

Why?

Had Ohgami lied to her? Was Sakura right after all? Was Ohgami just a perverted womanizer? Was she just one more person to be added into his list of prizes?

Reni punched the floor in frustration and it sent shockwaves of pain back into her, making her realize that she had used her injured fist again. Reni crawled to the small corner of her room and curled up again, moaning softly. The pain sent more tears to her eyes but she wasn't sure if it was from her wrist or from inside of her. She didn't care anyway. She just wanted to cry.

After sobbing herself senseless for nearly an hour, she was able to calm down a bit but she didn't feel any better. She silently cursed the dozens of authors who had claimed that crying made someone feel better. She felt even worse when she thought of why she had cried in the first place. However, the cloudiness caused by her anger did fade a bit, allowing her think a bit more.

She thought of Maria and Ohgami. Anger and hatred materialized again but she disregarded them. She remembered her thoughts before and small pang of regret and shame overcame her.

How could she feel that she had been betrayed? How could she feel anger? She was the one stealing Ohgami, wasn't she? She tried to take him behind Maria's back didn't she?

Maria had liked Ohgami first. In fact they had known each other longer than she had. Reni wasn't sure how relationships worked but surely if someone liked the other first, that someone should have him. It's how things worked. Right?

She tried to remember scenes from Shakespeare's 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'. Hermia had loved Lysander first and she ended up with him instead of Demetrius. That was how love should end right? How could she steal someone else's lover away?

She felt like Demetrius. No. More like a whore. It shamed her.

She reached a conclusion in her one-sided debate. She would leave Ohgami. She would not let herself become Maria's rival. She didn't deserve Ohgami. Maria did. It was because she loved him first and that was final. She was second and that was that. Tough luck.

Who was she kidding?

She couldn't just give him up. She wanted only him in her whole life. To give him up just when she had finally touched him was too hard. It was close to unthinkable. But she knew she had to. And she hated herself for not being able to let him go just like that.

Sadly, she indulged herself by thinking about Ohgami one final time before she slept.

Tomorrow, she would have to leave him and the thought only brought renewed tears to her eyes.

* * *

I'm preparing my sandbag barrier now and I hope they would be enough to stop your stones from killing me. R&R pls!

Oh, has anyone noticed that Reni sucks in card games? (In ST2.) I can beat her easily enough but Iris is just too annoying.


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